Guardian of the World Tree
by Oturan Namikaze
Summary: Legend speaks of three Great Primordial Spirits who helped shaped our world into what it is now. But what people don't know is that there was actually a fourth spirit. They say he watches over a giant tree that is said to contain a colossal amount of power. Milla Maxwell and her group discover that he isn't a legend at all. His name is Naruto, Great Spirit of Mana. NarutoXMilla M.
1. The World Tree

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the 'Tales of' series, the ones who do are Masashi Kishimoto_ _and_** **_Namco Tales Studio_ _. I_ _al_ _so don't own any other anime, its characters, or abilities that might appear in this story except for any OC's that will appear. And so, without delay… Sit back, relax and enjoy the story._**

People Talking – "I will complete my mission!"

People Thinking – _''Ludger is good, but Elle is the best! Elle Yeah!'_

Spirits Talking – **"This is my resolve as a Great Spirit"**

Spirits Thinking – ' ** _Yellow beauty burns gold.'_**

Skits – " **All Hail Emperor Rollo"**

Chapter 1

The World Tree

 ** _In the early histories of Rieze Maxia, a legend had been passed down of three Great Primordial Spirits that helped shaped our world into what it is now. The first was the Great Spirit of the Void, Origin, who was said to not only have power over the void but was also responsible for the soul reincarnation process that renewed the souls of the deceased before sending them back onto the world. Next was Chronos, the Great Spirit of Time and Guardian of the Land of Canaan, who hated humans and believed they needed to prove themselves worthy of the Spirits assistance. The third Spirit was one that everyone on Reize Maxia knows about even to this day, Maxwell the Lord of Spirits and the only one to harness the power of the Four Great Spirits of Earth, Wind, Fire and Water. But what most were not aware of was that there was a fourth Great Spirit that was said to have control over Mana itself, protecting and watching over the world from an ancient tree that helped control the flow of Mana that spread across the world. This World Tree was so powerful that humanity had forced the Fourth Great Spirit to hide it away in a location unknown to even his fellow Spirits, disappearing himself after Reize Maxia finished coming to be. Some say that it was because of a fallout he had with the other three Spirits, while others say it was because the Spirit had fallen in love with a human, but some say that the Spirit is waiting… waiting for the day he will be needed to protect the world that he had helped create. It was the actions of these four Primordial Spirits that set the hands of fate towards a certain group of people, embarking them on a journey filled with betrayal, friendship and love._**

"I am sorry Jude. But even if we did attempt to do the operation, not that I wouldn't even make it an option in the first place, it would not work." A middle aged man with glasses and brown hair said as he looked from his desk where a pile of paperwork laid towards a black-haired teenager. He was wearing a doctor's coat over his normal outfit while the boy was wearing a black overcoat with green and silver designs over his white shirt and black pants. "I had done an examination on her Mana Lobe and from what I could see, the damage done to it was too extensive."

"What do you mean Dad?" Jude Mathis asked his father, Derrick, who reached down to an open file.

"The female subject's Mana Lobes seemed to have release a large burst in one go while her body was injured, burning up the lobe itself and halting any Mana flow making it impossible for subject to manipulate Mana or use any known methods to assist her recovery. In addition to the subject's injuries she is under large case of exhaustion and malnourishment which will take her several weeks to a month to return back to normal levels."

"But isn't that Milla's…"

The doctor placed the folder down again before turning towards his son, "Correct. What you just heard was the analysis that I put together after hours of studying her. It wouldn't even matter if we tried to put an aspyrixis on her now since it wouldn't even work enough for her to have to endure the pain… I think it would be best that you tell her the truth of her condition, she your friend after all."

After a few minutes Jude nodded his head before walking out of his father's office, glancing to his right to the room where his friends were located. He made his way to the door before slowly opening it to see two girls inside, one was sitting up on the bed with the sheets covering her lower half while the other girl was sitting on the stool. The first girl was Milla Maxwell, she was a few years older and was the Lord of Spirits reborn in a female human form. She was wearing a light, revealing purple and light-pink outfit that had armor over her limbs and long, curly blonde hair that had a large sea-green lock of hair curling outwards. The girl next to Milla's bed was his childhood friend Leia, who was a nurse at his parent's medical clinic. She was wearing a Chinese style outfit with yellow lining over a black top and spats combo, and in her hair was a flowery headband to keep it from covering her eyes.

Leia and Milla turned their heads to see Jude enter the room with an expression that he usually had when he was deep in thought, "Oh Jude, your back. So what did Doctor Mathis say?"

"I have some bad news Milla... From what my Dad says it impossible to heal you, even if we did the operation" Jude said as he placed a hand on his wrist. "Apparently when you pushed your body through that hexagon barrier when the device exploded, the large burst of Mana you used to keep it at bay overwhelmed your Mana Lobe and ruptured it."

"… I see, well that was what I expected to hear after he explained some of my injuries." Milla replied as she looked down at her legs, "I guess I will just have to find another way to carry out my mission without my legs."

"Whoa hold up, there's no way you could-" Leia started to say but was interrupted by Jude.

"Don't worry Milla, I promise you I will find a way to help you. I don't plan on giving up just yet." Jude said making the two turn to look at him. They could see fire burning in his eyes as he looked at them with a look of determination. "It doesn't matter how long it will take, I swear I will heal your legs and help you complete your mission."

"Jude." Leia whispered to herself as she could feel her cheeks burning red as she stared at the fierceness in Jude's eyes, _'I've never seen him like this before. Is this really the same Jude I grew up with?'_

A small smile grew on Milla's face before she bowed her head a little, "Thank you Jude. I am sure you'll figure something out."

Unknown to the three inside the room, Derrick was standing outside the door with his hands behind his back and if you looked closely you could see a flyer with a crude drawing in one of his hands. He had heard everything his son had said to the handicapped patient he had brought in. But instead of going into the room himself, Derrick could only close his eyes with a very small smile before he walked away from the door. He could always question Jude later on why there was a wanted poster of him, for now he would leave his son to follow through with the decisions he had made… maybe Jude has become a responsible adult after all.

 **(A Few Days Later)**

"Hey Jude, I brought lunch. You're mom said you haven't been eating right so I thought bringing my dad's cooking would give you the boost you need." Leia asked coming into the study with a full plate of food for Jude. Ever since he had made his promise to Milla, Jude had spent most of his time in the large archive located in the back of the clinic, going through book after book in search of a way to restore Milla's legs.

"Thanks Leia." Jude replied while his eyes shifted across the text of his latest book, not even away from it when Leia placed the plate on the table in front of him. That changed however as he felt Leia's hand collide with the top of his head in a chopping motion before snatching the book away from his grip. "Hey! Give that back!"

Holding the now close book away from her childhood friend, Leia placed a hand on her hip as she gave him a stern look. "Listen Jude, I know you want to help Milla and I do too. But even she agreed that if you keep up this pace of not eating then you would be doing more harm than good. So at least take a small break and recharge your batteries with a meal."

"… Alright, but only for a few minutes." Jude said as he finally glanced towards the steaming meal in front of him, and as if on que his stomach let out a growl. He knew Leia was right and he needed to eat something before he passed out from hunger. "I never thought I'd see the day when **you** were the one disciplining **me** about taking care of myself."

"Very funny." Leia turned her head away from Jude with an angry pout. She turned her gaze towards the book in her hands, before opening it to look at one of the pages. "Whoa, I can't even read this stuff. I know I can't understand a lot of Doctor Mathis' notes but this is on a whole other level. "

"That's because it's an old form of our language. It's not that different from what we use now but even I am having a hard time reading it." Jude said as he took a bite of the food, stopping for a few seconds before happily eating a little faster. "After being away for so long, I really missed your dad's cooking."

"He'll be happy to hear that!" Leia replied with a smile before placing the book onto the table, "So where did you find this book? I doubt it was in your dad's archives."

"Actually it was way in the back, collecting a lot of dust. The only thing of value that I got from it so far was a tree that was said to have grown deep within a forest that was said to bless people with power and heal them by eating its fruit. But from the looks of it, the forest had disappeared thousands of years ago." Jude explained as he quickly finished the meal before drinking from a glass of water that was across the table. "Nobody even knows what the tree was, the only words used to describe it was the World Tree or the word Shinju."

"Shinju huh? Well that sucks." Leia crossed her arms over her chest with a pout before noticing the downcast look on Jude's face. Shaking her head a bit to clear her thoughts before she patted Jude's shoulder with a smile. "Come on now, I know you'll find a way to help Milla. You've just got to keep trying."

Jude looked up at Leia's smiling face before mirroring it with his own, "You're right. Thanks Leia."

"Any time!" The girl replied happily as she moved her hands behind her back.

The moment between the childhood friends was halted as a knock on the door caught their attention and they turned to see Jude's mother opening the door, "Sorry for interrupting you two. But Jude, there are some people here to see you."

"To see me?" Jude repeated in curiosity before getting out of his seat and heading out the room with Leia following after him

"H-Hey Jude, wait for me!" Leia said rushing after him.

As Jude reached the front door to the clinic, he found two familiar faces from his travels standing at the door. The first was an elderly, bearded man with his hands placed behind his back. He was wearing a brown butler coat over his outfit, but despite his appearance the old man had a fierce yet gentle look in his eyes and an aura surrounding him that commanded respect. The other was a young girl with platinum blonde hair that was wearing a purple and pink gothic dress, she was currently looking up at a floating purple and pink stuffed animal with green eyes and had small smile on her face that seemed to brighten as soon as she saw Jude appear around the corner.

"Rowen? Elize? What are you two doing here?" Jude asked in confusion as he looked back and forth between the two visitors.

"We came to see you and Milla!" Elize clasped her hands together as she swayed side to side.

Rown nodded his head in agreement as he brought one of his hands up to his beard, "That is correct, we were curious on whether or not her recovery was-"

"JUDE! BUDDY!" The toy, Teepo, shouted as he flew towards Jude's face and chomped down on the medical student's head.

"MMMHMM?! GEFF OUUFGH MHHEEIII!" Jude's muffled voice was barely heard as he grabbed onto the stuffed animals body.

"So where is Milla?" Elize asked as everyone watched Jude stretch Teepo as he tried to pull them out.

"She's in one of the patient recovery rooms." Leia spoke up making the two look at her, "Oh I'm sorry. I'm Leia Rolando, Jude's childhood friend and a nurse at this clinic. He's told me a lot about you all and your adventures together. Thank you for watching out for him."

"It's a pleasure to make you Mistress Leia." Rowen bowed at the girl with a large smile on his face, "Master Jude has been a very intelligent and capable man. It's thanks to him on several accounts that we are still around."

Leia smiled back at the butler, "I'm glad to hear that. He didn't really keep in touch after he moved to Fenmont so I was worried about him." Glancing to the side to see that Jude had finally managed to get Teepo off of his face, the young nurse perked up as she remembered something. "Oh sorry, I shouldn't hold you guys up. Come on Milla is this way."

As the group walked towards Milla's room, Jude explained to his friends about the Lord of Spirits' condition. As the five made their way into Milla's room, Elize and Teepo rushed to the woman's side to give her a big hug… well Elize gave her a hug, Teepo simple dove his head into her cleavage. Once they were all situated around Milla's bed, the conversation on their predicament continued. Leia had decided to get some tea for the group as they talked, leaving the five alone. Rowen was the first one to speak as he brushed his fingers along his beard, "I see, so it is not only the paralysis in her legs that is an issue. Her Mana Lobe was also damaged from the explosion at Fort Gandala…"

"Is there really nothing that can be done to heal her Jude?" Elize asked as she held Teepo close.

"If it were just her legs then I could have used my dad's aspyrixis and her Mana could've done the rest. But with her Mana Lobe damaged too I need to find another way. I've been looking through all the books my father kept in his archives but there is nothing yet." Jude explained to the older man.

"When you are having trouble with the situation at hand, look at it from a different angle. Once you do that you can always change the disadvantage into your favor," Rowen said to Jude with a smirk, "It was my mentor who used to tell me that when we played chess."

"He sounds like a wise man. Maybe he could've had an idea on where to look," Jude said before he noticed a certain book resting on Milla's counter, while at the same time Leia was reentering the room with a tray that had several teacups resting on it. "Hold on, isn't this the book I was just reading in the Archives? How did it get here?"

"Oh that, your father brought that in a while ago and I was just reading it for a bit. I was reading it for a bit before you came in." Milla answered before she shook her head with an amused smile, "I must say that you human certainly create the most interesting stories. A World Tree that is protected by a Great Spirit."

"The World Tree, you say…?" Rowen repeated as he took on of the offered cups from Leia, "Now that is a legend that I haven't heard in a long time."

"Really Rowen?" Elize tilted her head slightly at what the man said.

Teepo floated a little closer to Rowen before he spoke, "So where did you hear it from?"

"From my mentor actually, he used to tell me all sorts of old stories about the Great Spirits." Rowen said as he took a sip of his tea before he lowered the cup down again, quietly staring at his reflection in the liquid. "There was one story in particular that he told me, one that I have never forgotten."

"Oh and what story was that Rowen?" Milla questioned as she also took a cup from Leia.

"Well it has been a while since I've heard this story so let me think… When this world was still young there was a once a powerful tree filled with an enormous amount of Mana, so much so that many would try to seek it and the Great Spirit guarding it, all so they could attain that power themselves. But one day the Great Spirit had enough of those greedy enough to try and steal the Tree's power and hid it away. In the aftermath of his decision he created a trial to prove who was worthy of standing before him and the tree. As I said, no one has any clue as to where the Tree is located, but there is one manuscript that was still intact enough to relay one last message. "For those that desire to find the tree and be cleansed of their pain, endure the trial in order to gain access. For it is through the trial of the heart that will prove if thee are worthy."

"I've heard of that legend before. It's supposed to test the will of a person and judge their character straight from their heart and soul." The group turned their heads to see a tall brunette wearing a brown overcoat leaning against the open door with his arms crossed.

"Alvin?!" Jude called out in surprise as he stared at the man. Alvin was a mercenary that traveled with the group for a while before Milla lost her legs, and broke away from the group with the excuse of finding another client. The final conversation they had was still fresh in Jude's mind. "What are you doing here? I thought you had another client."

"The job finished up quickly and brought me all the way here. So I figured I'd come to check on you guys, especially since I've still got some extra payment from the people of Nia Khera." Alvin replied with a shrug of his shoulders before turning his head in Rowen's direction, "But going back to what you said before. That's about the Great Spirit Verius, right?"

"Oh? I'm surprised to hear that you know of that Spirit. It is a tale decades older than I am, and that is saying something from this old man's viewpoint."

Alvin turned his head away from the man, "You'd be surprised to hear the things a mercenary could learn from their travels."

"Wait, hold up! Who's Verius?" Leia spoke up as she looked back and forth between Rowen and Al vin. The other members of the group mirrored her puzzled expression while Milla only looked down in a thinking pose, her eyes narrowing slightly.

"The Great Spirit of Heart, a powerful Spirit that is said to judge a person by glancing into their very souls. Every action you've ever done, every feeling you've ever felt, Verius will have access to them all." Rowen explain while stroking his beard, "Very few claimed to have actually seen him but even fewer have passed his trial."

"So that means that he'll know about the time Elly secretly took a sip of that dizzy water when the big guy told her not to?!" Teepo shouted in shock, his mouth wide open.

"Teepo~!" Elize called out as her face turned red from embarrassment, "You promised not to tell anyone!"

"Aaahh I'm sorry. It just came out!"

Chuckling a little at the two, Alvin shook his head. "I wouldn't worry about something as small as that little lady, Verius is said to focus on the bigger problems so don't sweat it." The brunette glanced away from the group with a focused gaze, _'I on the other hand have a lot to worry about, if the legends are true that is.'_

"The Great Spirit Verius…" Milla's voice made everyone turn to look at her, "I don't know why but I can't recall any Great Spirit that went by that name."

"That's weird, you would think that the Lord of Spirits would know about this." Jude brought a hand up to his temple as he thought about what Milla said, "So does this mean that the legend isn't true?"

 **"It is no fairy tale Jude Mathis."** The group snapped their heads to the side to see a bright light form near them and an orange foxlike creature with six blue and green tails appears before them, the creature was wearing a red scarf around its neck with a large silver bell and two green gems under its head. **"I only appear to those that possess a worthy heart, for I am within every heart no matter where they are."**

"W-What is that thing?!" Teepo called out as he shot towards Jude and chomped down on the medical student's head.

Jude instantly reacted and attempted to pull Teepo off of him, stretching the toys body as he continued to free his face. "Mneepoh! Gweo ohf mei!"

"Could you be…?" Rowen started to say before he was interrupted.

"The Great Spirit Verius!" Leia exclaimed as she pointed at the creature. Verius nodded its head before gazing around the room, seemingly studying everyone before focusing on Milla's prone form/

 **"… Milla Maxwell, a great deal of knowledge you have learned was taught to you by the Four correct? Regarding your role as Maxwell and the Spirit world itself. They must've told you that your human body was freshly made during its creation so there is not a lot that you remember from your previous one."** Milla was surprised at Verius' words since it matched what Undine had told her exactly, but regardless Milla nodded her head to confirm was Veruis had said. **"I suppose that is to be expected… but I should explain that the Four are not the only Elemental Great Spirits that exist. There are four more; Aska the Great Spirit of Light, Shadow the Great Spirit of Darkness, Celsius the Great Spirit Ice, and finally, Volt the Great Spirit of Lightning."**

"So there are actually eight Great Spirits out there?!" Alvin said in awe as he scratched the back of his head

 **"Correct."**

"Incredible," Jude said after finally managing to pull Teepo off. "In school and in the manuscripts we learned about the Lord of Spirits Maxwell and the Four, but now we're face to face with the Great Spirit of Heart and learning about four others… To think that there were actually so many Great Spirits."

 **"There are a great deal more than just us Jude Mathis. But allow me to explain why no one in the current world has knowledge of us. You see, the reason the other four and myself are not as commonly known by humans is because we do not serve Maxwell."** Verius explained much to the shock of the group, **"Thousands of years ago we broke off from Maxwell and pledged our service to our current lord, the Great Spirit of Mana and the Guardian Spirit of the World Tree."**

"The Great Spirit of… Mana?" Jude repeated as he took a step back, "Are you saying that there is actually a Great Spirit that controls the world's Mana? But that impossible, the only reason Mana can be used is because of our Mana Lobes, our connections to the Spirits."

 **"No, Mana has existed long before humans were even aware of its existence. It, just like the lesser Spirits, flows through this world and needs to be monitored in order for humans and Spirits to live in harmony. That is what our lord has been doing since he came upon his role eons ago when Mana came to this world."** The Great Spirit turned to look at Milla, **"But this can be explained in better detail later, for now I must test you all to see if you are worthy of passing my test."**

"Right here and now!?" Elize said in surprise while the others around her braced themselves, even Milla tensed up in her bed as she waited for Verius to make her move. For a few moments nothing seemed to happen except for a light hue surrounding Verius' form but it soon died down.

 **"… I have seen into the depths of your hearts.** **There is a large collection of sadness, anger, fear, regret and even jealousy… But at the same time I can sense the courage, hope, trust and even love you all have for each other that outshines the negative.** Verius said as it closed its eyes, bowing its head a little before speaking. **"Very well, I shall take you to the World Tree. Prepare yourselves."**

Alvin's eyes widen as he held a hand out, "Just wait a moment! You're not saying that we're leaving this insta-" The mercenary wasn't able to finish his sentence as the room was enveloped in a flash of light and teleported the group away. Once the light had faded not a single trace of the party had remained, even the wheelchair that Milla had been using had vanished with them.

"Jude? Are you alright in there?" Jude's mother, Ellen Mathis, called out through the door before it slowly opened to allow the black-haired woman to stick her head in. "Huh, that's strange. I could've sworn I heard voices in here… did they leave without telling us?"

 **NMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMM**

"-nt?! Huh?" Alvin blinked several times as he noticed they were no longer in the clinic but in a forest of some kind.

"Whoa, what is this place?" Teepo asked as he and Elize looked around the area in awe of the many trees and colorful plants surrounding them.

Rowen let out soft hum as he brought his hand up to his chin, "From what Verius had said earlier, I believe this place must be the forest that contained the World Tree from the legends."

"This place is huge!" Leia said as she helped Milla into the wheelchair that had been transported with them, before she looked upwards and let out a gasp. "Oh… Wow~" Everyone followed her gaze and a few couldn't help but take a step back when they saw the giant tree that was located off in the distance. The tree seemed to extend all the way into the sky, the tip of it wasn't even seen as the bulk of it was still pushing passed the white clouds.

"Talk about sticking out like a sore thumb." Alvin commented while bringing a hand above his eyes so the sun's light, or whatever was creating that light in the distance, didn't mess up his sight. "Hard to believe it was possible to hide something like that and this forest too."

 **"Actually this isn't a forest."** Verius spoke up making everyone turned their attention to the Great Spirit, **"Everything you see around you is actually a part of the World Tree. You see the World Tree gathers Mana within itself and then disperses it to the areas around it, but after my Lord created this dimension to keep the tree from falling under the effects of spyrix and still have a connection to Reize Maxia."**

"This Great Spirit must be pretty strong to do all of this." Teepo said as he circled around Elize's head several times.

"Hold on, what's a spyrix?" Leia asked, causing a few heads to nod in agreement after they realized that they didn't know either. The only ones that had shown no reaction to the question was Milla and surprisingly Alvin.

"I think I've heard of that before… Did you call the Lance of Kresnik a spyrix Milla?" Jude turned his head to the handicapped girl, who nodded her head at his question.

"That's right, though I didn't think the spyrix would affect this World Tree to the same degree as the Spirits, but if it really does have such a deep connection to the world's Mana then I suppose it is possible.

 **"Spyrix are weapons that were created and used by a certain group to cast artes without channeling Mana, it is also responsible for the deaths of thousands of Spirits."** Verius explained which shocked almost everyone in the group, **"I'm sure Milla Maxwell will be able give you an explanation on that later, but for now all you need to know it that my lord had created this dimension to save the tree and the people in it."**

"Incredible. To think that I would live long enough to see something so amazing," Rowen commented before turning his head back towards the direction of the tree. "Judging by the power needed to hold this dimension together and still maintain the Mana flow coming from the tree onto the world, would it be correct to assume the Great Spirit you are taking us to is indeed the one from legends?"

Verius nodded his head before starting its way towards the direction of the World Tree, **"You are correct Rowen Ibert. Only a very select few have stepped onto this sacred land, so tread carefully while you are all here. Now then, follow me."**

With one quick exchange of glances between the members of the group, Jude and Milla were the first ones to follow after Verius with the former pushing the wheelchair. The others soon followed with Alvin staying behind for a bit with a calculative look on his face and crossed arms. He stayed like this for several moments before following after the group, saying nothing as he made it a few feet behind Elize and Rowen.

 **Skit: Glancing into ones heart**

 **Jude (A puzzled look on his face): So what does it mean when you look inside our hearts Verius?**

 **Verius: It's actually quite simple really. My abilities as the Great Spirit of Heart allow me to connect myself to the hearts of anyone around me.**

 **Milla: What an amazing power, and to think I wasn't even aware that such a being could exist.**

 **Jude: So what do you see when you look into a heart?**

 **Verius (Nodding head): I use my powers as an empath to look at all the emotions you've ever felt and then I glance into the memories you treasure most. In a way, I see and experience everything you have up to this point."**

 **Rowen (Brings a hand near his chin): Sounds like a scary ability. To gaze deep into a person's soul and judge them by everything they have done in their entire life.**

 **Verius (Tilting head slightly): Soul? Oh right, that's what you humans call it these days. Yes I suppose it can be scary when if you're not experienced with it.**

 **Alvin: So you look at a person's entire life in just a brief moment. Must be very intense. How can you judge all the human around you so easily without focusing on them completely?**

 **Verius (Raises an eyebrow): Who ever said I didn't? Its hard to put into words for you humans to understand but lets just say that even now I am connected to every person on Reiza Maxia.**

 **Jude, Alvin, and Rowen become very alert at that knowledge**

 **Jude (Raises a hand in front of him): R-Really, so even now you are testing everyone.**

 **Verius: Of course. It how I keep watch over humanity… Like how I know you used to sneak into your father's office as a child at night and put on his coat while pretending that you were Doctor Jude Mathis.**

 **Jude (Face turning red): W-What?! H-How did you?!**

 **Alvin (Winking with a chuckle): Well now, Mr. Honor Student. That's pretty adorable for a kid to do.**

 **Rowen (Chuckling himself with a hand on his beard): Indeed, but you do not need to be embarrassed. Everyone has done at least once done something similar, or at the very least had an embarrassing moment themselves.**

 **Verius: You mean like those passionate poems you wrote when you were younger? I can still remember the emotions you used when you wrote each word.**

 **Jude and Alvin perked up: Poetry?**

 **Rowen (Looking away with closed eyes): Oh my, I had hoped you wouldn't look into that part of my life. I was young and foolish back then, such a romanticist.**

 **Alvin (Chuckling): Interesting, now I'm curious on what kind of poems you wrote. I'm glad I didn't do anything that embarrassing.**

 **Verius (His features hardening a little): Maybe not, but there are a few other times like that time with your mother's hair. Or maybe I should tell them about the neighborhood girls that used to tease you because you were so much smaller than them. Isn't that right, Alfred Vi-**

 **Alvin (Wide eyes): Okay that enough now. I get it, you're a powerful Spirit and we can't hide anything from you.**

 **Verius (Nodding head firmly): Indeed, but despite all the faults that some of your party members have I still founds you all worthy to be here. Remember that Alfred.**

 **Verius moves away from the conversation, leaving the four behind.**

 **Alvin (Rubbing back of head): Yeesh, and I thought Milla could be scary. I guess all Great Spirits are like that.**

 **Rowen (Smirking a little): Truly a frightening being.**

 **Milla (Muttering to herself): Despite our flaws we are still worthy… Now I'm really curious on who this Great Spirit is.**

(A Little While Later)

As the group got closer to the tree they could see dozens of glowing orbs floating throughout the pathway and circling around the trees. They could see that many of them varied in color and size, with the smaller ones resembling fireflies while the larger ones had more physical shapes.

"Whoa, just look at them all!" Teepo called out causing the group to come to a halt.

"So pretty, but what are they?" Leia asked as she looked at a passing orb of light. Eyes grew wide when the form inside the orb took shape in the form of what appeared to be a little person with wings, very similar to the fairies you would read in fairy tale books.

"Those are lesser Spirits" Verius replied as one of the orbs rested itself on his back before taking the form of a small cat, "The Mana in this dimension is a lot stronger than in Reize Maxia due to the World Tree's presence, so they can take on a physical from by themselves."

"So this is what the Lesser Spirits really look like…" Jude commented in awe as he studied the different creatures scattered all around them. He could still remember back at Bermia Gorge when they had defeated the giant mutation of Lesser Spirits and the beautiful sight of when they dispersed.

Leaning forward in her wheelchair a bit, Milla brought a hand under her chin. "Interesting, I knew that they had forms of their own, but this is the first time I've ever seen a Spirit other than the Four physically manifest."

"They're so cute." Elize said while holding out her hand as a green orb drew close to her and placed itself on her palm, taking the form of a tiny grey dog with turquoise ears, "Look at this one, he's so little."

 **"That's because that healing Spirit is still just a baby. Oh you are such a cute little darling, aren't you?"** A voice from above their heads, causing everyone but Verius to look up with startled expressions.

Pulling out his gun quickly, Alvin pointed it upward as he scanned the area around them. "Who said that?!"

 **"What a rude brute you are…"** The voice replied with a noticeable change in its tone and accent. **"Seriously, it's just like a macho man to go around pointing his weapon at everything."**

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Uhhh…. What?" Alvin blinked a few times before his gun lowered.

 **"Calm yourself Alfred. That voice belongs to Aska, the Great Spirit of Light."** Verius explained before letting out a sigh, **"I should warn you now, Aska can be a bit… strange for those that are meeting him for the first time."**

 **"Oh Verius don't be such a stick in the mud. I swear you and the others are just jealous that I have the best personality between the eight of us."**

"… Well he certainly is different, but where is he?"

Aska let out a laugh that echoed around the group, **"Well if you must know girlie I am everywhere there is Light, you know since it's kinda my thing and all."**

 **"Enough Aska, stop messing with the humans."** Verius said as he started walking once again. **"They need to meet the lord and they don't have time to waste on your nonsense."**

 **"Oh you're no fun Verius, I remember a time when you used to be fun."** as the voice said that everyone saw a shadow appear above them. When everyone looked up they saw a large white bird with a purple underbelly that was bigger than an average size house, tribal markings were spread across its body and its wings had brightly glowing feathers.

"So this is the Great Spirit of Light." Rowen commented as Aska descended down and landed in front of the group.

Jude stared up at the giant bird with an awe-filled expression, "This is just like with the Four, you can just tell with a glance that he's the real deal. Amazing."

 **"Hmmm….Oh my!"** Aska quickly moved his head down until it was a few meters away from Jude, getting a good look at the medical student who had to take a step back because of Asla's actions. **"Well aren't you an adorable human. A real cutie!"**

"Wait… W-What?!"

That was all Jude managed to say as Aska used its wing to bring him closer, **"Don't be shy, come closer so I can get a better look at you… Well well, you certainly have a** **handsome face going for you. I might just have to keep you**." Aska said before rubbing his face against Jude, which was the same size as Aska's head.

"Oh no Jude!" Leia called out as the group watched the Great Spirit continue to cuddle up to their friend.

"So… this is Aska the Great Spirit of Light" Milla said as she watched Jude had a hand on the Great Spirit's beak trying to stop it from rubbing against him.

"He seems kinda fruity!" Teepo making a few heads turn towards him.

"Teepo, that's rude!" Elize chastised her tiny friend and started to roughly pat him on the head causing his body to bounce several times. "You're a good boy so apologize now before you get in trouble."

 **"I wouldn't worry about it, Aska has been called a lot worse. And unfortunately it looks like your young friend there is his latest target."** A new voice from behind Milla, or more specifically her shadow.

 **"Ah _there_ you are Shadow, I was wondering where you disappeared to." ** Aska said to Milla's shadow, which to their surprise started to rise from the ground.

 **"Of course, someone need to keep an eye on bird-brain. He was always weak to humans with pretty face,"** Shadow replied as fully emerged from Milla's shadow and rose into high into the air before taking the form of a humanoid purple panther with only his head being visible to the group while the rest of his body was covered in a black cloak, and around his body was a dark violet aura. **"… Aska leave the human alone already. Geez, _this_ is why our lord refuses to let you into human populated areas. "**

 **"Oh hush Shadow, you're just jealous that I'm more likeable than you."** Aska replied still holding Jude close. Shadow only scoffed as he raised his arms out of his cloak before crossing them in front of his chest. **"Play Mr. Tough Spirit all you want, you know I'm right."**

 **"The day I admit your right on something like this is the day Efreet and Slyph switch personalities."**

Leia couldn't help but sweatdrop when she looked at Jude, the black-haired human sending his friends an awkward look that almost screamed at them for help. "I don't think Jude is doing too well you guys."

"They remind me of how the Four always fight." Milla said with a smile thinking back on her younger days with the Four Great Spirits, thought it quickly dissipated when she remembered their current situation. _'I can't afford to waste any more time, I have to destroy the Lance of Kresnik as soon as possible."_

 **"Enough you two, our lord is waiting.** " Verius said as she moved in between the two Spirits, using one of its tails to free Jude much to his pleasure and Aska's displeasure. **"Milla Maxwell is in need of his assistance."**

Aska tilted his head to the side once he processed the Great Spirit of Heart's words. **"Milla… Maxwell!? What happened to the old fart?"**

"… Old fart?" Leia repeated in confusion.

"It appears that the old description of Maxwell having the physical appearance of an old man was accurate," Rowen said as he thought about the old manuscripts he had read years ago. "But to think that he went from that into the female form that we know so well."

Signaling Leia to push her chair forward a bit, Milla spoke up as she got closer to the three Spirits. "I am Milla Maxwell, the very same Lord of Spirits that you know. Twenty years ago I took a human form and have been living in Reize Maxia in order to fight Exodus and destroy the spyrix."

 **"… Is that so? Well good for you then."** Aska replied with a shrug of his wings before raising himself up to once again tower over the humans. Milla blinked a few times at the indifferent reaction at her introduction and explanation. **"But that still doesn't explain what you want with our lord."**

 **"I can answer that,"** Verius answered causing the bird Spirit to look down at her. **"I saw it from within her memories, Milla Maxwell's legs were badly damaged during a recent battle with the King of Rushigal. I brought her here in order for our lord to heal them in order for her to continue her quest."**

 **"Oh please~! Tell me you're joking!"** Aska snapped, this time the town in his voice seemed to grow older and have an edge to it. **"After what Maxwell did to him in the past, do you really believe he will help this hussy?!"**

"I'm guessing things didn't end well between this Great Spirit and Maxwell all those years ago." Alvin whispered to the others in his group.

Rowen brushed his fingers across his beard, "So it would seem."

"I wonder what happened. Do you know Milla?" Elize asked as she walked closer to the wheel-chaired woman, who shook her head a few times.

"I do not know, perhaps it is one of the memories that Verius was saying that I didn't receive when I gained a human form."

 **"Calm down Aska, you know as well as I do that if these people managed to pass Verius' test then they have more than enough right to see him." Shadow said as he moved closer to Aska, who scoffed as he turned his head away. "And remember, it is our lord's decision on whether or not he will help her."**

 **"… Whatever, I am going on ahead then."** Aska said after a few minutes of silence and transformed himself into an orb of gold light before he vanished with a bright flash. Shadow shook his head a few timed before his body also transformed into an orb of energy, this time it was a dark purple that quickly melted into the shadows of the trees.

Verius turned her head towards the group before moving it in a manner to tell them to follow her, **"I will lead you to where our lord resides, prepare yourselves."**

"Excuse me Verius, besides the three of you guys there was two other Great Spirits right?" Leia spoke up as they followed the Great Spirit through the forest, "Are we going to meet them too?"

 **"That would be very unlikely. We have no idea where Celsius is after she disappeared hundreds of years ago and Volt had perished long before that because of spyrix technology."** Verius replied as they started to see a shrine gate in the distance, a large symbol in the shape of a spiral could be seen engraved into the top of the gate, **"But enough about that for now. Our lord is just up ahead."**

The group continued passed the gates and continued walking until Alvin's head perked up, "This sound I'm hearing, is that a waterfall?"

"This is where our lord spends most of his time when he is not watching over the World Tree." Verius explained as Elize and Teepo closed the distance between them and the waterfall, the two of the staring at their reflections in awe.

Elize extended a hand outward to touch the water image of her, and as soon as her finger made contact with the reflection it rippled several times. "This is amazing, right Teepo?"

"It's like looking at a mirror!" Teepo exclaimed in agreement.

"Ah the innocence of the little miss and her spud." Alvin said as he and the others watched Elize and Teepo continue to fool around with their reflections, "So where is this lord of yours? I don't see anyone here but us."

"Maybe you should try looking up." A male voice called out from above their heads, making them look up to see a man with long, shaggy-looking blond hair with jaw-length bangs framing either side of his face hovering above them in a lotus meditation pose. He was wearing a red and black high-collared robes with gold trim, along with a large, flowing white toga draped around his torso. "... The fact that you are all even here means that Verius found you worthy."

"Incredible, I didn't even sense his presence until he spoke." Rowen said as he shifted his stance, feeling the muscles in his body tense up.

Jude took a step back as he took in the powerful presence that the man was emanating, it was very similar to Milla's but on a larger scale. "So this is the Great Spirit that the other four Great Elemental Spirits serve."

"Serve? Hardly, unlike some people I do not see any of them as my servants." The blonde stood up from his seated position and turned to face the group, staring down at them as nine spheres appeared out of nowhere and hovered behind his back. Not even a second later the man had moved down to their level and was standing on top of the water in front of Elize and Teepo. "I will gladly lead them into battle, but the Great Spirits are my comrades and friends. I am Naruto, the Great Spirit of Mana and Guardian of the World Tree, what are you all doing here?"

"So this is the Great Spirit that those other spirits left Maxwell for?" Jude thought to himself as he stared at the blonde man.

"Wow. Compared to the others, this guy looks the most human next to Milla." Leia whispered to the other men in the group.

"Maybe, but appearances can be deceiving. I mean look at gramps here." Alvin replied while pointing his thumb at Rowen, who let out a soft laugh.

"Very true. Though from looking at this spirit with these old, experienced eyes of mine I can tell that there is more to him than what is seen at first glance."

Taking a step forward, Elize and Teepo tensed up as the male spirit got closer to them. But before Elize realized what was happening her body started to feel calm and the nervousness she had felt had slowly started to dissipate with each step Naruto took. Soon the blond man was right beside her and look down at her with a smile before patting her on the head, "There is nothing for you to be afraid of, if you managed to pass Verius' trial then I have no reason to be hostile with any of you."

"T-Thank you sir." Elize replied in a low voice as her cheeks turned a little red. Naruto nodded his head as he continued to smile before walking towards the others.

Teepo popped his head out from behind Elize's shoulder, "He seemed really nice, didn't he Elly?"

"… Judging by how you all are circling around this woman." Naruto started as he scanned the group briefly before focusing his gaze on Milla, his eyes widening for a split second before they returned to normal. "I take it you must be the reason why you all are here, am I right?"

"Yes, my name is Milla Maxwell. I am the physical manifestation of Maxwell, the Lord of Spirits." Milla introduced herself, not noticing the look of surprise that appeared briefly on Naruto's face before she continued speaking. "To make a long story short my legs and Mana Lobe were greatly damaged during a recent confrontation I had in my efforts to destroy the Lance of Kresnik."

"The Lance of Kresnik, you say… Interesting. I'm guessing that is the latest spyrix weapon," Naruto spoke up while bringing up a hand under his chin to assume a thinker pose. "I suppose that would explain the sudden increase in deaths lately, not to mention the shifts in the Mana connection between the humans and spirits."

"Wait, you can sense things like that?" Jude asked as he thought back to when he was back in Fenmont and was treating many patients that had experienced problems with their Mana Lobes.

 **"As the Great Spirit of Mana, Lord Naruto has a powerful connection to Mana itself. So sensing something such as that is child's play for him."** Shadow said as he and Aska appeared on either side of Naruto, **"He has also known about Exodus and has been following their recent actions."**

Milla's eyes narrowed at that, "So you know of the dangers that they bring correct? Then you can understand that it is my mission to exterminate them and rid the world of all spyrix."

"I suspected that… And I'm guessing the reason you are here is because you all believe that I can heal your injuries and restore your Mana Lobe." Crossing his arms as he studied the woman in the wheelchair, "Aska and Verius had already informed you all that Maxwell and I ended our friendship on bad terms thousands of years ago correct? So give me a very good reason why I should help you… Milla Maxwell?"

"…"

"…"

 **"…"**

For a few minutes no one said a thing as they watched Naruto and Milla stare at each other in silence, before Milla finally spoke up. "Because it is my duty as Maxwell and Lord of Spirits to protect this world and keep the balance. And just like me, you are a powerful spirit that wishes to protect both humans and spirits alike… or am I wrong in assuming that?"

"Heh, I wouldn't say you are wrong. I have been on this planet for a long time and I have seen humanity at their best and worst, but that is what makes them so amazing." A look of nostalgia could be seen on Naruto's face as he closed his eyes in deep thought. "… Very well I will help you, but first I would like you to tell me something."

"Oh, what is it?" Milla replied as she straightened her back against her seat.

"Where are the Four? Shouldn't they be by your side?"

Naruto's question made Jude flinch slightly from the memory of what happened to them, but never the less Milla nodded her head before answering. "As I had said before, there is a new powerful spyrix weapon called the Lance of Kresnik. I didn't take into account its true capabilities and it absorbing a great deal of my power as well as imprisoning the Four inside of itself."

"… I see…" The male spirit said as he processed what the woman had said, "Something that powerful must have a key of equal strength to operate it, and if you are here now then that means you have hidden it somewhere. But enough about that, we can talk about that later." Once again Naruto continued walking until he was standing directly in front of Milla, the woman being forced to look up had took notice to the shade of blue in his eyes.

 _'As deep and blue as the ocean, it reminds me of Undine.'_ Milla thought to herself before she took noticed to Naruto kneeling down slightly with one hand, which had an image of a white sun-like marking on the palm of it, now resting on her forehead while another, this one with a black crescent moon-like marking, was pressed against her exposed stomach. She was about to say something when in an instant she felt a warmth rush through her body, causing some redness to form on her cheeks from the very pleasant sensation. "Are you…?"

"That's right, I'm inserting my Mana into you. It's a large dosage and with the healing properties within it, the potential behind it could even regrow a limb or major organ so your legs are no big issue." Naruto explained as Mana started to form around him and Milla, first beginning in a green glow before turning orange and then to yellow. "Your Mana Lobe however is different as I need to focus a lot into replacing your damaged one for a new one."

"You can actually do that?!" Alvin exclaimed in shock causing a few heads to turn to look at him, well everyone except for Naruto and Milla.

"And very easily too… as long as no one interrupts me during the process, if that happens then she would be in need of a new head." The others could see Naruto's shoulders seemed to move, taking that as a sign that he was shrugging his shoulders as he said that. After several minutes of silence, the glow around the two ceased and Naruto removed his hands from Milla's body. "There, now everything should be taken care of."

"Really, it was that fast?" Leia asked while taking a step back in surprise.

Naruto nodded his head at the female brunette's question before offering a hand out to Milla, who stared at the appendage for a few moments before reaching out and grabbing onto his hand. With a gentle pull Milla felt Naruto pull her onto her feet and to her amazement, as well as her friends, she was standing perfectly straight. "This… this is incredible!"

"It's nothing that special, I've been able to do stuff like this for a long time no-" Naruto stopped talking when he saw that Milla was trying to walk around, but as soon as she took her second wobbly step her body began to fall forward. The blond spirit instantly moved in front of her and caught Milla mid-fall, her head colliding with his toga, "Easy now, your body needs to adjust to having legs again, you did lose them for a good chunk of time."

"He's right about that Milla, the physical recovery you'll need normally take several months." Jude added in as he thought back to the multiple patients he and his parents had help when it came to similar issues, such as Leia when the girl was very young.

 **"Luckily Lord Naruto used his Mana to help you recover so if you take it easy for the next few day you should be back to normal within a week or so."** Verius explained to the Lord of Spirits as Naruto lifted her up and placed her back on the wheelchair.

"For now I suggest you rest up since my Mana's healing ability with take time for it to finish taking care of whatever issues are left in your body." Naruto directed before turning his head to look at Aska, "I have a residential area near here, so you all can rest the night here and depart in the morning. Aska will show you where it is."

"I see, thank you for your hospitality." Milla replied with the others nodding their heads in agreement… that is until Jude heard what Aska said next.

 **"So I'll be guiding this cutie along huh? That suits me perfectly!"** Aska replied cheerfully before moving over to the group and curling a wing around Jude, separating him a bit from his group. " **Come on Jude, let's get to know each other."**

"I- Well I… Um... Guys help me out here!" Jude whispered as he tried to look to his friends for help, unfortunately for him though they could not see any of his expressions and just followed Aska as he led them out of the area. The smile on Naruto's face fell, replaced by a scowl and his hands tightened into fists as he stared at the back of Milla's head as Leia pushed her wheelchair farther and farther away.

"Damn you… Maxwell."

 **NMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMM**

Staring at the ceiling of the room where she and the other girls were sleeping, Milla could not find herself being able to fall asleep after today events. Though she didn't verbalize it, it had come as a shock to finding out that there were actually detail about the Spirit world that even she, the Lord of Spirits herself, was not aware of.

"To think even now there are still so many spirits out there that I wasn't aware of," Milla said to herself as she rolled onto her side and look over at the other beds where Elize and Leia were sleeping. Elize was sleeping peacefully with a sleeping, mouth-opened Teepo securely in her arms while a softly snoring Leia was sprawled all over her bed with her covers only covering below her thighs. Letting out a heavy sigh, Milla rose from her bed and removed the covers. "If I am unable to sleep then I guess I should just move around, this place has really peaked my interest. It's peaceful and completely in tune with nature just like my shrine"

Once Milla had finally managed to get a steady balance for herself, she slowly exited the room and walked along the wall with a hand pressed against it in order to keep herself from falling again. The woman soon came to a stop when she reached open patio hallway with a walk-on yard on the other side, hearing voices coming from outside.

 **"Are you sure it was a wise to heal her legs my Lord?"** Hearing Shadows voice, Milla quietly moved herself closer to the final part of the wall and remained still as she continued to listen in on the conversation. **"I know she has some similar traits to that other one and bears the same name, but you have to remember she been dead for many years now."**

"I am well aware of that Shadow, but can you honestly expect me to stand by and do nothing?" Naruto's voice replied

Milla could hear a bird screech and quickly assumed it was Aska, **"This is exactly why I can't stand that old fart! As always, he does whatever he wants regardless of what comes of it and our poor Lord through pain because of it. I knew as soon as I saw the girl and heard her name that he had something to do with this, but from what Verius told us he isn't even close to done yet."**

 **"I have to say that I agree with them Lord Naruto, by healing Milla Maxwell's legs you have helped his plans come to fruition."** Verius said which made Milla's eyes narrow as she wondered who they were talking about.

"It's doesn't matter now you guys. I have already healed her and there nothing any of you can say that will change that, only Chronos has that type of power." Naruto said to the Great Spirits, who lowered their head in acknowledgement to the truth of his words. "Besides, I doubt that even if I refused to heal her legs she would have continued onward with her mission, isn't that right, Milla Maxwell?"

Milla's eyes widened as soon as she heard her name, _'He was able to sense me so easily.'_

"I knew you were there for a while now, shouldn't you be resting with your friends?"

"… After everything that had happened today sleep would be the last thing on my mind." Milla replied as she emerged from her hiding place, "So who is this man you are all talking about?"

"Haha nothing you need to worry about Milla Maxwell, it isn't something you need to concern yourself with." Naruto said with a laugh but that did nothing to quell Milla's curiosity, in fact it only raised it… That is until what Naruto said next, "You are far too young to get involved with matters like this."

"Too young? I'm Maxwell, Lord of Spirits, not some little girl that need coddling." Milla replied while staring at him straight in the eyes, and for some strange reason she felt something strange in her chest when she saw the emotions that stormed within his eyes like a storm. But she quickly shook that off, "I have been spending the past 20 years on Reize Maxia working hard to keep the balance between humans and spirits, fighting against Exodus and destroying their spyrixs with each battle I have had with them. But in all that time, I have never once seen you appear, or even heard of you and the other Great Elemental Spirits. Why did you not assist me when the spirits were dying? With our combined strength we could have ended this long ago."

Naruto was silent for a few seconds before he took in a deep breath, "… What I have and have not done is none of your business. You say you've been doing this since you were "reborn" as a human girl, try several thousand years before you even try to play that card with me Milla Maxwell… And if you really need a reason then let's just say that I made a promise with someone to help the humans out, but they needed to learn for themselves before I could attempt. If not, then they would make the same mistakes and continue this cycle of war and hatred."

"But they're still at war even now!"

 **"WATCH YOUR TONE WITH OUR LORD MILLA MAXWELL!"** Aska shouted as he extended his wings as far as they could go.

"Stop Aska." Naruto said as he raised a hand to halt the Great Spirit of Light's movements, which made the giant bird lower his arms. "As you can see these spirits are as loyal to me as the Four are to Maxwell, so I'd suggest you take a deep breath and calm yourself before you speak again." Crossing his arms over his chest, Naruto closed one of his eyes before he continued. "You are right about there still being war, but I have faith in mankind making the right decisions in the end."

As much as she wanted to disagree with the man before her, Milla knew he was correct. While humanity did have its flaws it also had redeeming qualities that made them shine brighter than almost any other creature, it was what made them so fascinating to her. "… Fine, I will concide to that. But it was because of your actions of doing nothing that led Volt to his death because of the spyrix. If you were so sure that things were going to work out then why did I have to take human form?"

 **"YOU LITTLE HUSSY! How dare you question Lord Naruto's love for humans and spirits! I should-"**

"Enough Aska, she is right that I should have stepped in sooner." Naruto said as he flashed a sad smile up at his friend, but that soon change as Naruto pointed his gaze at Milla. "But even so, if you ever question my love for both spirits and humans again I will show you why you feared me so much even in your old body. Now then I think it time for you to return to bed… Verius if you would please help make sure she returns to her room for the night."

"Yes my Lord." Veruis bowed his head before making his way over to Milla's side, using his tails to motion her along back to the female bedroom. Once they were out of sight Naruto turn his body around completely and walked passed Shadow and Aska.

"I am going to check up on the tree, I will return shortly." Naruto took as few steps and disappeared in a yellow flash, reappearing at the base of the World Tree. It was a place that only he and whoever he gave permission to could even get near, after all this tree, the Shinju, was not only a remnant of his past, but also what help humanity continue on towards its future. Even if it wasn't what Madara and Kaguya had originally planned, it was something that he and Sasuke had agreed on after the battle… The world needed the tree and the tree needed someone to protect it, and who better than Naruto Uzumaki.

But this wasn't what was going through Naruto's mind at the moment, not it was about something that happened long after the age of Shinobis. Back when he and the other three Primordial Spirits had gotten together to discuss humanities future, and the one human woman that he had loved. "How could you do this to her Maxwell? I know you felt betrayed but why give her the same name? Are you so hang up on the past that you can't get over her picking our dream over your stupid ARK plan?" Naruto said to himself as he spun himself around and planted his back against the tree before he slid down it and landed in a sitting position. "… I guess it's time that I stopped staying on the sidelines. After all, we made a promise to make a world for humans and spirits to live in harmony, and I never go back on my word."

 **NMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMM**

 _So here it is, the first chapter to one of the very few NarutoXTales of Xillia crossovers on this site. I hope you liked it, since I will say right now that this story was done without any previous planning whatsoever. I was talking with_ **fairy tail's storm king **_about the Tales of Xillia games and we decided to work together on this one, though I am the one writing it_ _. Anyway like always with all of my works be sure to leave some nice reviews, but remember that all flames and insults will be IGNORED, so don't bother writing them. Oh, and I am wondering if the title was good for this story, hopefully it is but if anyone has a better one let me know. I hope you enjoyed reading and I hope to see you again._

 _A/N 2:_ _The next story I will be working on is either **Golden Devil** or my latest fanfic in the works **RYBWN**. And for those wondering, yes it will be a Naruto/RWBY Crossover. Let me know which of these you want me to work on first._

 _A/N 3: Lately I've been wanting to see what it would look if one of my stories was written with that Reading/Watching Genre that been getting very popular lately. I don't know who would be interested in doing it with one of mine, but I really hope someone could give it a try._

 _Until Next Time!_


	2. Road to Xian Du - Part 1

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the 'Tales of' series, the ones who do are Masashi Kishimoto_ _and_** **_Namco Tales Studio_ _. I_ _al_ _so don't own any other anime, its characters, or abilities that might appear in this story except for any OC's that will appear. And so, without delay… Sit back, relax and enjoy the story._**

People Talking – "I will complete my mission!"

People Thinking – _''Ludger is good, but Elle is the best! Elle Yeah!'_

Spirits Talking – **"This is my resolve as a Great Spirit"**

Spirits Thinking – **_'I'll never go back on my word.'_**

Skits – " **All Hail Emperor Rollo"**

Chapter 2

Road to Xian Du - Part 1

"Well this certainly is a surprise." Rowen said as he and the others sat around a large wooden table, all of them staring down at the large quantities of food that were spread over the table.

Morning had quickly arrived for the group as they were woken up by Verius and Aska under Naruto's orders as he wanted to speak with them before they left. The Great Spirit of Light had greatly enjoyed popping his head through the window of the men's bedroom to wake them up, especially when he heard the shout Jude let out when the human male opened his eyes to see Aska's face a few feet away from his own.

 **"I hope this is all to your liking, Lord Naruto hasn't prepared a meal for anyone else in a long time."** Verius said as he looked at the group with what could be seen as a smile, which made some sense since the fox-like Spirit was not exactly an animal and could make facial movements like any Human. It was one of those mediocre talents that some Spirits possessed after choosing their preferred forms. **"He is currently taking care of some business but he will be joining us momentarily."**

"So Naruto was the one who cooked all of this?" Jude asked as he and the others looked down at the beautifully decorated plates in front of them. The medical student couldn't help but notice all of the different varieties of food that stretched from the traditional breakfasts that included eggs and pancakes to some more extravagant dishes that he had never even seen before, with a bowl of fruit and several drinks placed at the center of the table. "Where did he even get the ingredients for all of this?"

 **"Lord Naruto never has too much difficulty to getting what he needs, especially when it comes to cooking."** Aska answered from his spot outside the door window located behind Jude and Alvin's seats at the table, the large bird's head moving close until it was hovering over the group's heads. **"It has become one of his simple pleasures for as long as I can remember."**

"Wow, I didn't know that Great Spirits could be chefs as well!" Leia called out in amazement as she looked at all the food in front of her, "This stuff looks just as good as anything my Dad would make!"

Milla stared down at the food for a few second before she picked up the fork situated next to the plate, stabbing it into the folded egg dish with red and green vegetables inside of it and was decorated in herbs. The others watched as she took a bite of the food before a smile grew on her face, the others took it as a sign to start eating and they were surprised at the incredible taste. While a few of them ate at a slightly faster pace than other, Leia and Alvin, everyone seemed to enjoy their meals with smiles on their faces.

"Oh wow, all this stuff is sooooo yummy~!" Teepo's shouted as Elize let out a happy hum after biting down on a powdered strawberry slice. "Elize and I can't remember the last time we had fruit this good."

 **"That's because of all the Mana flowing through this dimension, it makes all of the fruits and vegetable here grow healthier."** Verius said as he watched everyone slowly start to finish their meals, **"Gardening has been another one of Lord Naruto's pleasures."**

That caught Rowen's interest as he looked up from his scrambled egg that had mabo curry mixed in. Something he hadn't seen done before in the many years he had enjoyed the curry dish, and the best part was that nothing was going into his beard. "Interesting, the more I learn about him the more surprised of how unlike you'd expect a Great Spirit of his caliber to be."

"Well it's not like we have a guide to how they usually act, most of what we have to go on are the stories passed down and our residential Lord of Spirits here." Alvin motioned a free hand towards Milla, who had been eating the most of the group. "Looks like her stomach is as bottomless as ever."

"Can you really blame her?" Jude pointed out as he lowered his utensil onto his empty plate, "According to Milla, it wasn't until she met us that she started to rely on human needs such as sleep and eating. You remember what happened at Aladhi Seahaven, right?" Alvin nodded his head as he recalled the woman collapsing from exhaustion and hunger, luckily there was an inn nearby so they were able to get some food into her before she fell asleep.

"I guess twenty years can really put a number on your appetite." Alvin replied with a shrug.

Milla soon came to a halt as she looked up from her meal, "If I had known eating was so amazing I would have partaken in it long ago."

"You've really never eaten before? Or even slept?" Leia asked bewildered at what the three had said regarding the long haired girl's past.

"But the adults in Hamil always said that Elize needed to eat healthy and get lots of sleep if she wanted to get bigger!" Teepo said while Elize nodded her head in agreement as she thought about all the times the elder had told her to eat her vegetables.

 **"That would be Sylph and Undine's doings, correct?"** Several eyes turned to look at Verius, who was now in a seated position as he watched the group. **"There is no doubt that possessing a human body and having to endure its weaknesses would get in the way of your mission, so having the Four's assistance until now was a great resource for you."**

Milla nodded her head in response, "Exactly. But as I stated earlier, I've learned how enjoyable eating can be."

 **"… Hmph, I suppose I can agree with you on that."** Aska spoke up surprising the group of humans as they turned to the large aviary Spirit, who tilted his head when he noticed all the stares he was getting. **"What's with those looks? Spirits may not NEED to eat but that doesn't mean we can't, I enjoy eating Lord Naruto's Golden Salmon dish."**

"Soooo, Great Spirits can eat just like us? Does this mean you guys are all bottomless pits too?" Alvin joked with a grin as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Only when it comes to our favorite meals." Everyone turned their heads to see Naruto standing at the doorway with Shadow floating behind him. Almost immediately everyone took notice to the change in the Great Spirit of Mana's wardrobe, replacing his robe and toga with a black form-fitting shirt with silver lines designs spreading over the front and baggy black hakama pants that narrowed and tucked into what appeared to be a cross between boots and sandals that left his toes exposed, and black fingerless gloves with metal plates on the backhand. Over his attire was an orange, high-collared long sleeve trench coat with black stripes on the sleeves and six magatama markings around the collar that had lines circling around them and stretching to various spots on the coats back.

"Whoa, talk about a major change." Leia said while Elize and Teepo nodded their heads in agreement. While the others took in Naruto's new attire, it was thanks to their years of experience that Alvin and Rowen were able to take notice to the way Naruto presented himself as he walked passed them… it was the posture of a powerful warrior and someone who had lead many into battle.

Naruto only smiled as he made his way closer to the table and walked towards the remaining empty seat at the head of the table, seating himself down with his three Great Spirit companions positioning themselves behind him. Due to his size, Aska was the only one of the group who was forced to remain outside of the room, though he made sure to pop his head back in so he wouldn't miss anything. "I hope you all had a nice rest and have enjoyed your breakfast."

"It's amazing, and this almost feels as if I'm eating at an actual restaurant." Jude replied with a smile.

"I'm glad to hear it. I wasn't sure at first what you all would like so I made a bit of everything, though I had Verius here help me with what your preferences were." Naruto explained as he motioned to the multi-tailed Spirit next to him.

That made Milla raise an eyebrow as she studied the blonde man sitting three feet away from her, "If that is the case then why didn't you just have him tell you what our favorites were?"

"Looking into your personal likes and such is fine up to a certain point, but since we all had just met I figured that it would not be right for me to learn everything about you all too quickly. After all, we each have secrets or details about ourselves that we don't want coming to light… at least not yet…" Naruto's answer had earned him confused looks from his guests, though a certain mercenary couldn't help but feel nervous when he saw that Naruto's gaze focused on him for a few seconds before moving back to the entire group. "But anyway, I believe you all are planning your next move, right?"

"That's right. Milla's legs and mana lobe have been restored, so the first thing we need to do is get back to the clinic to make sure that everything checks out for her." Jude said as he glanced over at Milla, who was looking down at the empty tray of food in front of her with a thoughtful expression. "We don't want to head out later if something is wrong before heading out later today."

The multi-color haired blinked a few times at that before turning her head to look at Jude, "I don't recall saying that."

"I've gotten used to how you think." Jude replied with a slight grin.

"Heading out?" Leia questioned in surprise. "You're planning on leaving so soon?"

"Well Jude isn't wrong, now that my body has been healed I will need to continue on toward Fennmont." Milla stated making Naruto let out a hum as he closed his eyes.

Opening them once again, Naruto clenched one of his gloved hands tightly. "You are going to go after this new Spyrix device, this Lance of… Kresnik… Heh, that's a name I haven't heard in a long time. Glad to know its still remembered long after death."

"Wait... Are you saying that you knew Kresnik, the Genesis Sage?!" Jude exclaimed as he rose to his feet with the palm of his hands pressing hard on the table. "He existed thousands of years ago, one of the most important people in history."

"And yet… history has forgotten so much about what life was like during that time… Though I suppose it is expected given the circumstances," Naruto let out a chuckle as he reach out for one of the remaining fruit bowls and picked out a watermelon slice. "But I honesty thought that people would have kept one important detail about Kresnik."

"An important detail, you say?" Rowen repeated as he crossed his arms.

 **"I swear, how anyone could forget that human female is beyond me."** Aska said to himself while turning his head to look away from the group.

Alvin blinked a few times before speaking, "Wait… Are you saying that the Genesis Sage… was a woman?"

"That's right… But I can tell you more about that later. Going back to our earlier part of the discussion, do you have any plans on how to get to Fennmont?" A few took notice to the slight pause Naruto made before he quickly changed the subject, the Great Spirits behind him were glancing at their lord briefly before returning to the conversation at hand. "Though it's been a while since I been on Rieze Maxia, I do believe the only ways to Fennmont is either by ship or through Fort Gandala."

"My, you are well informed." Rowen mused as he brought a hand to his beard, turning his gaze to Milla and Jude. "I believe our previous visit there didn't had left you both with the option of passing through it, not unless you plan to force your way through."

"I will do what I must."

Elize shook her head several times at Milla's response, "But it is filled with soldiers, not to mention those Golems."

 **"Remember Milla Maxwell that it was because you acted recklessly that left you in that wheelchair yesterday."** Thanks to his ability Verius had complete knowledge of what had occurred during the group's time at the large fortress, as well as Milla's encounter with King Nactigal. **"You need a proper plan to avoid needing medical attention again, especially since Lord Naruto is planning on going with you."**

 **"…"**

 **"Hmph, a mistake if you ask me. But I guess since I'll get to enjoy seeing Jude's cute face more it works out."**

"Wait. Hold on. What do you mean going with her? Are you saying he's coming back with us to Rieze Maxia?" Leia called out in surprise which was mirrored by the others in the group. "But what about the World Tree, don't you have to stay here and watch over it?"

"This dimension we are in can only be accessed by myself and a select few that I have given permission to enter, not to mention the barrier surrounding it that is fueled by both the tree and my mana. The World Tree will be safe while I am gone for a short time," Naruto replied as he turned his attention back to Milla. "So do you have any problems with me joining your group?"

"It is no issue with me, you will be a great asset to making sure the Lance of Kresnik is destroyed. But if you don't mind me asking, why?" Milla's question was simple and yet contained a lot of emotions as she studied Naruto's form.

"… I guess you can say that I've decided to do something about this troublesome issue. You were right on how dangerous the Spyrix are and if this new weapon really did absorb the Element Four then it needs to be taken care of before it can be turned towards the rest of Rieze Maxia, most likely resulting in the deaths of both Humans and Spirits." Naruto explained as he narrowed his eyes at the thought, "I was one of the Primordial Spirits along with Maxwell when we appeared before this world, and like Maxwell I had sworn to protect both Human and Spirits from any threat."

The room went quiet for a while before Jude spoke up, "Well… Like Milla, I don't have any issues either. Any help you can give us would be appreciated Naruto."

"Two powerful Spirits accompanied by three of the Elemental Spirits, quite the party you've got honor student." Alvin smirked as he glanced over at Jude, "I don't think you'll have much to worry about whatever you go up against with that much power on your side."

 **"Though back to the manner at hand, how exactly do you plan on getting to Fennmont? It would be easy for Verius, Aska or I to teleport there and hide ourselves from detection thanks to our powers, but Lord Naruto is different."** Shadow said before turning his head towards the blonde Great Spirit, who looked as though he was about to say something. **"Lord Naruto, you may be able to conceal yourself even better than I ever could, but we both know that you won't leave these two by themselves."**

"Very true, and going through Fort Gandala would be an issue since it would alert the Rashagal Army so going by foot is dangerous." Naruto noted before glancing up at Aska's head, "I would suggest that Milla Maxwell and Jude ride on Aska while I fly next to them."

Aska let out a scoff _,_ " **As much as I would _love_ to have that cutie ride me all the way to Fennmont, the thought of the hussy isn't so appealing."**

"Not to mention that he would be seen very quickly once you would get closer to Fennmont. Given Aska's large size and appearance, it would attract too much attention, and I don't mean any offense when I say this." Rowen added as he bowed his head at the Great Spirit of Light, who nodded his head as he understood what the Conductor was saying. "I would agree that traveling there by flight would be the best option, however without any access to such methods leaves you limited."

"Well there not many options that we can choose from, if only I still had the Four by my side. I could've used Sylph's wind to fly over to Fennmont undetected like I did before." Crossing her arms, Milla shook her head as she thought about the situation of her comrades being trapped in the giant Spyrix.

"… If they were still by your side then you all wouldn't be here. But maybe this is a sign that you were taking them for granted," Naruto commented making Milla turn her head to look at him. "I'm not saying that to point fingers or anything, it is only a comment. From what I've heard from Verius you haven't let this stop you from continuing on."

"Of course not, it is my duty to the world to help keep it safe. The moment I stop or have any hesitation is when I can no longer call myself the Lord of Spirits." Milla replied with a determined look on her face, "It is my responsibility as Maxwell."

 **"And you were very lucky to run into Alfred here to teach you swordsmanship."** Verius added.

Alvin cleared his throat at those words, "I was just surprised on how quickly she managed to master it, kind of scary… And could you just call me Alvin, ya know."

 **"… Everyone has the potential to get stronger Alfred, it just depends on their will and the strength of their hearts."**

Ignoring the sigh coming from the mercenary and Verius' amused chuckle, Naruto continued to speak. "You have gotten very strong on your own since being separated from the Four, and I agree with your mission completely. Like I said before I made a promise to protect both, and I refuse to let either suffer because of the stupid choices of idiots… That is why I've decided to go with you to destroy this device."

"I see, then you have my gratitude." Milla said with a nod of her head as a small smile grew on her face.

Rowen couldn't help but chuckle, "Seeing the two of you showing such determination make my old wounds act up, bringing up so many memories from the past."

 **"You are talking about the dying wish of Cline Sharil and your connection to Nachtigal, correct?"** Verius spoke up making the old butler turn his head to look at him, **"I've been sensing the conflict in your heart regarding the two. It has been troubling you ever since you went to Fort Gandala."**

"I am not surprised that you are able to figure it out… Nachtigal is one of my oldest friends and Lord Cline's dying wish to save this country means that I would have to fight against him, which makes me wonder if I am even capable of doing so." Rowen bowed his head as he looked between Jude, Milla and Naruto, "But as you said Naruto, this is something that I cannot afford to turn a blind eye too anymore… even so, I am at an impasse."

"…"

"…"

"…"

"Then what if you come with us and decide for yourself when we get there." Milla said to Rowen, who was now confused. Taking that as a sign for her to continue, Milla crossed her arms. "I understand that you are confused on the issue, but time of the essence and hesitation can be a common Human failing until you decide to face it."

Naruto let out a sigh and shook his head several times at Milla's words, "While I wouldn't put it so bluntly but I do agree with her that hesitation is something that needs to be overcome." The blonde Great Spirit smiled warmly as he closed his eyes in thought, "Though I do know that Humans can do anything they set their minds to, so the only thing you need to do right now Rowen is continue to move towards the future."

"Continue to move towards the future." Rowen repeated before he let out a chuckle, "I must admit that you both are correct. Worrying and having doubts only waste the remaining time this old man has left in him."

"So does this mean…?"

Rowen nodded his head at Jude's question with a faint smile, "Yes. Please allow me to accompany you three."

"And don't forget about me." Alvin called out making everyone's heads turn to the brunette, who was rubbing the back of his head as he looked away. "My last job didn't pan out as well as I thought it would after departing from your group, not to mention I still have some money left from last time that I didn't work off. So you lot are pretty much stuck with me."

"You're coming with us?!" Jude blinked in surprised as he stared at the man, who he remembered said he didn't want anything to do with protecting a client who didn't care about their safety.

"Of course, it'll be just like old times."

Elize looked around at Rowen and the rest of her friends that were going to Fennmont. It didn't take a second to pass before she spoke up as well, "I'll come too!"

"Sorry Elize, but you should head back to Sharilton to Driselle. She'll be worried if neither you nor Rowen returned at all." Jude replied as he gently tried to turn down Elize's request, knowing the journey would probably be too dangerous for the young girl.

"But, I…" Elize didn't finish her sentence as she looked down at her empty plate on the table with a crestfallen expression, everyone focusing so much of their attention on her that they didn't notice the brief shine in Naruto's eyes as he stared at the girl.

"Actually Miss Elize, I need you to deliver a message to the young mistress for me. Tell her that-"

"You're going to come with us as well." Naruto interrupted making Elize and Rowen's heads turn to see Naruto had gotten out of his seat and was moving towards them until he was standing behind Elize's chair. "From what I can sense, you've got a lot of Mana in you despite being so young. Not to mention you know how to use it as well."

"I can keep an eye out for her too, so there no harm there," Alvin added as he crossed his arms with a smirk.

"Looks like you're stuck with us, butler!" Teepo shouted as he chomped onto Rowen's head, to which the old man tried to pull the stretchy, stuffed toy off in vain.

Jude couldn't help but smile at the scene, happy that for once the floating toy was not chomping on his head, before he turned back to Elize and the Great Spirit of Mana. "Are you sure it is a good idea? I don't want Elize to be put in anymore danger."

"Don't worry Jude. I will personally make sure that nothing bad happens to Elize on our journey, and I always keep my promises." Naruto replied as he reached down as gently rubbed the top of the girl's head making her giggle at the warm feeling coursing through her body just like the night before. "Now then, I think we should all return to Leronde. I imagine that your families must be worried about you and Leia."

"Good point, my mom and dad must be freaking out." Leia replied with a nervous tone as she thought about what her mother might do to her for disappearing so suddenly. Though that quickly died down as she had another thought going through her mind. Once they returned to Leronde, Jude would be leaving soon after to go on his journey with his friends… while leaving her behind.

As everyone watched Rowen continue to try and remove Teepo from his face, Verius quickly took notice to the shift in Leia's heart and turned to look at the now quiet girl. **"Hmm…"**

 **(Leronde)**

For a few seconds nothing seemed out of the ordinary as Ellen finished looking around the room for any clues as to what happened to her son and the other people that had the room as well before they had disappeared. The room that Milla had been recovering in only had one exit besides the window, though she seriously doubted that an honest boy like Jude would risk his friend's safety to go out that way, and none of the patients waiting at the desk yesterday had seen them leave. Naturally she began to worry when Jude didn't return for several hours and when she had gone to see Erin and Warrick, Leia's mother and father, but neither had seen Leia or Jude. Last thing Ellen saw as she was leaving the lodge, Warrick was being chased down by Erin with a broom waving in her hands… to think, that was an everyday occurrence for her. Opening the door to Derrick's office, the black-haired woman was taken out of her thoughts as a bright flash of light enveloped her husband's office, making her cover her eyes, before it quickly died down allowing her to lower her arm.

Ellen was shocked to see Jude and his friends standing at the center of the room, perfectly fine. Relief overtook the woman as she ran towards her son, "Jude!"

"Mom?" Jude blinked as he felt his mother wrapped her arms around him and hug him tightly.

"Are you alright?" Ellen quickly asked as she moved Jude back a few inches to get a proper look at him, "Is anything broken or bleeding? Where on earth did you go? We were so worried."

"I'm sorry Mom." The black-haired teen replied as his gaze diverted to the others for a second as he noticed Naruto was standing in the back with Milla, the latter being held up by both Naruto and Leia. "To be honest, it happened so fa-"

"Jude!" Derrick's voice called out into the room as the man ran inside towards his son with a deep frown, his wife moving out of the way to avoid collision. Jude was so surprised by his father's sudden appearance that he didn't notice Derrick's incoming hand until it came to a stop an inch from his face.

"I think that's a little much, don't you?" Alvin said calmly as he held Derrick's arm from hitting Jude, normally he wouldn't have interfered since he figured the man had been worried about his son. But on the other hand, it wasn't Jude's fault that they were teleported away so quickly. "Especially since what happened wasn't his fault, so why don't we all calm down."

Derrick turned his gaze to the owner of the hand that was holding his arm, only for his eyes to widen as they met Alvin's. "What're you doing here?"

"I traveled around with your son for a while and came to visit. Isn't that right, honor student?" Alvin said while letting go of Derrick's arm, turning his head towards Jude to flash him a grin. Derrick went silent as he lowered his arm to study the brunette before looking back at his son.

Jude nodded his head to confirm the mercenary's words, "Yeah. We're old traveling buddies, though it looks like that might change soon."

"… So where have you all been? Disappearing off with a patient is such a condition…" Derrick questioned angrily as he stared down at his son, who averted his gaze away from his father's as soon as he started speaking. "Do you have any idea-"

"Please don't be angry with him Derrick," Naruto spoke up as he made himself known within the small group. "It was Verius that took them away so suddenly."

The older Mathis turned his head to the voice that spoke up and took a step back with his eyes widened, "Lord Naruto!"

A few surprised looks appeared on several faces as they looked between the two for a few moments before Jude finally spoke up, "Wait a minute Dad, you know who Naruto is?"

"Of course I do, I didn't have his book in my studies for nothing." Derrick replied as he regained his composure and placed his hands behind his back, "But to think Verius would actually bring you all to him."

"Heh, is it any different from when you and I met." Naruto laughed as he placed a hand on his hip, "I still remember a certain someone that was so overwhelmed by Shadow and Aska's presence that he could barely get a sentence out in the beginning."

Jude and the others were surprised at that as Derrick let out a heavy sigh while next to him, Ellen was laughing softly into her hand. "Please don't bring up such an embarrassing moment. That was a long time ago."

"Cleary," Naruto chuckled before shifting his attention to the Mathis matriarch. "It's been a long time Ellen, glad to see the years have been good to you."

"Thank you Lord Naruto, but honestly I am jealous of you Spirits. You look exactly the same as you did almost eighteen years ago." Ellen smiled as she bowed her head, "It is wonderful to see you again though, and I have never forgotten what you did for me and Derrick all those years ago."

"The fact that the both of you have had a wonderful and healthy life together and had a son to top it off is enough for me." Naruto said with a smile of his own as he and the two doctors looked back at everyone else, focusing on Milla as Leia helped her back onto the bed so she could sit down.

"I take it you managed to help that girl with her injuries?" Derrick commented already knowing the answer.

"Yes, I have restored her Mana Lobe and her legs. She is still recovering to get used to having both again, luckily Jude will be there to help me out with her recovery exercises." Naruto turned his head back to the two as they snapped their heads to give him their full attention. "My method of healing is much greater than anything the people of Rieze Maxia are capable of, as such her recovery time is shorter."

"Be that as it may, why did you mention my son?" Derrick questioned with a firm tone, showing that despite his actions he was still a protective father even when up against a Great Spirit on Naruto's level.

"This will take some time to explain, for now I think everyone should be getting ready for the journey ahead. Get any supplies and equipment you think you'll need, we'll be meeting up at the Seahaven in two hours." Naruto stated as he looked back at the others, who nodded their heads in agreement. Rowen and Elize followed Jude as they went outside with a surprisingly quiet Leia a few feet behind them, but just as Alvin was about to walk out the door Naruto called out to him. "Actually Alvin, I think we need to have a talk before anything else."

"Oh really, about what?" Alvin replied as he tried to feint innocence.

That didn't work as Naruto's gaze went cold as he stared at the mercenary, "You know exactly what I'm talking about. Derrick, can the four of us borrow your office? And by four, I mean the three of us and Milla."

"… Very well, Ellen can you take care of everything while we are in my office. This might take a while." Derrick said as he looked over at his wife, who nodded her head in understanding.

"Of course. Today is one of our slow days so I should be able to handle things very easily. If anything I can get Jude to help." Ellen nodded her head before walking out of the room, closing the door behind her as she left.

Sensing the tension building up in the room, Milla studied the three males in the room before speaking. "If you don't mind, I would like to know what you three are talking about."

"It's pretty simple Milla, I'd like to introduce you to Alfred Vint Svent, or Alvin as you know him as, and Derrick Mathis, members of Exodus and former residencies of Elympios." Naruto explained as he motioned towards both men, the younger of the two surprised at how quickly Naruto revealed his identity to Milla. The only female in the room was shocked as she stared at Alvin and Derrick with wide eyes and an open mouth. "Well, to be more precise, Derrick is a former member."

"… So I take it you've been spying on me this whole time for Exodus then?" Milla questioned Alvin as she recomposed herself quickly and narrowed her eyes, her body tensing itself to prepare for a possible fight.

"Wait, wait. Hold on now!" Alvin called out as he waved his hands in front of him, "It's true that I do work for them but it's not by choice."

"Then start talking, before my blade runs you through." Milla threatened as she unsheathed her sword and pointed it at Alvin, who pulled out his gun and mirrored Milla's actions.

"Well, this certainly wasn't how I wanted things to go today." Alvin commented in a serious tone.

"I'm sure it's not." Derrick commented as he walked passed the two and secured the lock on the door, "I've been doing my best to stay out of your squabble for almost eighteen years and I intend to keep it that way. So I'd appreciate it if we can all avoid fighting in my office thank you very much."

"Don't worry Derrick, we're only here to talk." Naruto said as he raised his hands in both Milla and Alvin's directions, and to their shock two of the black balls hovering behind Naruto's back instantly appeared next to their raised arms and smacked the weapons out of their hands. "There's a reason I brought the four of us in here to talk, so no violence is allowed until we're done."

"Alright, I know when I've been dealt a bad hand." Alvin said a few seconds later as he held his hands up in a surrendering position. "So what exactly did you want to talk about?"

"I only want to talk about two things. The first is you current and future involvement with Exodus," Naruto held up a hand with his index finger being the only one pointing out before it was joined by a second finger. "The second is something that I am sure you'll want to talk about, and depending on what is said after this will tie into the first subject."

"… And what would that be?" Alvin asked with a raised eyebrow.

Naruto waited a few seconds and took a breath before he spoke, "If I completely heal your mother and get rid of her illness, would you consider betraying Exodus to fight with us?"

 **NMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMM**

"So we're going to take a ship to Auj Oule, huh? It's been a long time since I've gone there." Naruto commented as he stared at the ship from the top of the stairs leading to the docks. "I take it your planning on going to the Lakutam Seahaven and then head to Xian Du, right?"

"Hoho, I suppose I shouldn't be surprised that you figured out what I had in mind." Rowen replied with a laugh as the group walked over to the station in front of the ships to retrieve their tickets. "I do believe it would be the ideal course of action for my plan to succeed."

"I suppose your right about that, it would be the best choice to sneak into Fennmont territory unnoticed." Moving his hands behind his head, Naruto let out a hum as he looked off onto the ocean.

"Any idea what they're talking about?" Jude whispered to Alvin as they watched Rowen and Naruto as the two conversed.

"You got me kid, I'm sure they'll let the rest of us in on their little plan once we're on the ship." Alvin replied with a shrug with a frown as he focused on Naruto's back.

Elize looked up at Milla to see that the older girl was moving her head back and forth as she seemed to scan the area surrounding the Leronde Seahaven, "Is something wrong Milla?"

"Hmm… I was trying to see if Leia was here. I wanted to thank her for everything before we departed," The buxom female replied as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Hopefully I will find the chance to thank her later down the road."

"I'm sure you'll get the chance, you're buddies now after all!" Teepo exclaimed with a smile as he wiggled back and forth in front of Elize.

Milla nodded her head with a smile, "I suppose you're right."

"Is everyone ready?" Naruto spoke up getting everyone's attention, "We all know the majority of Rowen's plan is taking place in Auj Oule, and from what Verius has informed me regarding your previous journey you all have past experiences there in some way or another. I hope you all know what to expect, especially the few of you originally live there."

"… We've all come this far, it's not like we can turn back now." Jude was the first one to speak before he glanced over at Alvin, "Though I'm sure you have your own plans."

"Ouch kid, you really know where to make it hurt." Alvin replied mockingly as he placed a hand over his chest, "I didn't think a good kid like you had thorns, maybe I'm more of an influence on you than I thought."

"I certainly hope not." A few heads turned to see Derrick was walking up to the group with a small bag in his hands, Jude averted his gaze away as his father stopped in front of him. Staring at Alvin for a few seconds, Derrick reached into his coat with his free hand and pulled out a piece of paper. It was a wanted poster with a crude drawing of Jude on it. "From what I've seen already, you've already gotten in some trouble. Care to explain, Jude?"

"Not really, it's nothing for you to be worrying about." Jude answered quickly as he lifted his gaze from the floor, "And I've already made up my mind Dad, I'm going with them."

Derrick's frown grew as he stared at his son, "You don't even know what that Milla girl really is… But it doesn't matter what I'll say since you would leave anyway." The doctor lifted up the hand holding the sack up to Jude, "In here is a good supply of medicine, with your current knowledge you should be able to at least be able to use it for minor issues."

Jude looked at the bag in surprise as he slowly took it from his father, staring at the back in his hands before looking up. "… Dad."

"Remember this Jude, part of becoming an adult is taking responsibility for your actions." Derrick said as he moved his hands behind his back, "Now that you've decided the path you want to walk down, follow it through to the end."

"… Right… Goodbye." Jude nodded his head at his parents before he turned around and started to make his way towards the ship, Elize and Teepo following after him silently.

"Such a heartwarming farewell." Alvin commented with a shrug before following after the three. Rowen bowed his head at the Mathis parents before also heading onto the ship, leaving Milla and Naruto as the last ones to remain behind.

"Don't worry, you're doing the right thing." Milla said to Derrick and turned her attention towards Naruto, "Will you be alright going on the ship? Most Spirits aren't too keen on being confined to an area for so long."

"I'll be fine. It's not the first time I rode on a ship." Looking back at Derrick and Ellen, Naruto smiled at the two and patted his fist against his chest. "Jude will be just fine, I'll make sure he returns here safe and sound."

"Thank you Lord Naruto." Ellen replied while bowing her head at the Great Spirit, Derrick only nodded his head as he watched the two humanoid Spirits walked passed the gate and took the stairs leading towards the ship.

Once the two had reached the entrance of the ship, they noticed Jude was standing at the rail staring down at his parents in the distance. The ship's horn blew as it signaled for its departure and soon left the port, leaving the group to watch as Leronde slowly started to become a fuzzy inage in the distance.

 **Skit: Heading Out to Sea**

 **Alvin: You okay, kid? Leaving your home like that can't be easy, especially after being there for less than a month.**

 **Jude (Nodding his head): I'm fine, it's not like this is the first time I left Leronde.**

 **Rowen (Looking to the side with a serious expression): True, but even season veterans can still get that uneasy feeling from leaving their loved ones behind. You do not have to keep a strong front for our sakes.**

 **Naruto (Placing hands behind head): It's not good to bottle things up too much, trust me when I say that.**

 **Jude (Smiling lightly before he looks away): Don't worry about me you guys. I'm fine, honestly.**

 **Teepo: Everything will be alright. Cause Jude's got his buddies to help him out.**

 **Elize (Making tiny fists in front of her determined face): That's right. All of us are here for you if you need to talk about it.**

 **Jude (Blinking in surprise): Everyone… Thanks.**

 **Mila (Going into a thinking pose): There was a book that I recall reading once about this sort of situation, it was called "Leaving the Bird's Nest". I never really understood it but I remember it saying that it was a big moment in one's life.**

 **Naruto (Sweat-dropping): Isn't that the romance novel about a girl falling in love with the leader of a foreign nation.**

 **Rowen (Chuckling): Yes, now that you mention it I do think I recall Lady Driselle reading that book once. I'm am surprised you know about it Lord Naruto.**

 **Naruto (Shrugging his shoulders): Of course I would know about it, I helped the person write it.**

 **Elize (Moving closer to Naruto with Teepo): Wow, really? That's amazing.**

 **Naruto: Not really. Believe it or not, I've help hundreds of writers with their works whether it involved**

 **Jude (Leaning closer to Milla and the others): I had no idea that Naruto was such a big influence on humanity. But I guess seeing the book about him in my dad's archives is only proof of his abilities.**

 **Milla (Cocking head to the side): Humans certainly like to record all sorts of information, and even I was impressed on the types of books that your father had.**

 **Rowen (Placing hand on his chin): Oh? I had no idea that you were such a book lover Lady Milla.**

 **Milla: It's been my way of learning more about the world. Despite what humans believe, even Great Spirits such as myself and Naruto are not omniscient beings. It is an idea that humans had created due their own imperfections and desire for power, sacrificing lives to hold onto the ridiculous idea of such a being.**

 **Alvin: Wow, you sure don't beat around the bush… But I suppose there is some truth to that.**

 **Milla (Looking away): At least, that's what I've read in a book.**

 **Jude, Alvin and Rowen all sweatdrop at her statement**

 **Milla (With a disappointed look): I didn't manage to read most of the books, but I did see something that caught my interest. It was a handwritten book that had the title, "Jude Mathis: Developmental Diary."**

 **Jude (Shocked with mouth open): Wait, WHAT?!**

 **Milla (Not noticing Jude's expression): Jude's mother called me for dinner before I had a chance to look at it, but I do remember that it was placed in a weird spot.**

 **Alvin (Smirking widely): Oh really~?**

 **Milla: Yes, it was place right next to "Bedwetting: Causes and-**

 **Jude (Quickly interrupting): I-I think that's enough talking about Leronde, we've got to get ready for when we arrive in Auj Oule!**

 **Milla, Naruto, Elize and Teepo (Who turned their heads at his outburst) stared at an embarrassed Jude with question marks above their heads while Rowen and Alvin only laughed to themselves.**

(On Route to Lakutam Seahaven)

"It's been a long time since I've ridden on of these things." Naruto commented as he leaned back on the ship's railing, his eyes closed as he took in the sea air, "Sometimes it's nice and take things at an even pace. Makes you enjoy the little things in life."

"I'm with ya on that one." Alvin said with a small grin as he copied Naruto's movements and propped his arms on the railing. "Gotta have a little fun from time to time, remember that Mr. honor student."

"I can understand you being a go with the flow kind of guy Alvin, but it's kind of weird seeing a Great Spirit seem so… mellow?" Scratching his cheek, Jude looked back and forth between Naruto and Alvin.

"Believe me, being a Great Spirit is awesome and all but it can be a pain when people make assumptions about us because of our powers. We still have our own personalities and characteristics that make us unique. Though I'm sure you already found that out from meeting Milla and getting 'acquainted' with Aska." Naruto couldn't help but chuckle as he watched the black-haired teen's body shiver at the mention of the Great Spirit of Light.

Rowen let out a chuckle as he moved his hands behind his back, "Though I am sure you are more than capable of taking care of yourself if you're on the same level as the Lord of Spirits and the other Primordial Spirits."

"You don't have to worry about me at all." Naruto replied as he held out a hand and one of the black spheres hovering behind his back moved near the palm and took the shape of a long black staff as Naruto grabbed it. The black staff in his hand shifted forms again to resemble a sword, and then a giant hammer before Naruto finally released it to let it hover in the air in front of him, taking several different shapes until it returned to its default sphere form and returned to its place in the circular formation. "My orbs are powerful on their own and can take whatever form I want, not to mention I can control them with no issue at all."

"Seems like we've got a really strong ally this time around." Jude said as he studied the floating orbs, finally getting over the uncomfortable feeling he got from thinking about Aska.

"I'm just happy that we're all together again." Elize said with a smile as she held Teepo close to her chest.

"Got that right, and I'll be here to watch over Miss Elize during our travels no matter where we end up." Alvin said before turning his head to the side to look at the youngest member of the group, "Though… that little spud there… isn't **_exactly_** part of the bargain."

Teepo seemed to freeze up in Elize's arms before his head drooped down, "That is so mean Little Buddy."

"Don't call me that." Alvin replied quickly, making Elize look between her two friends for a few seconds before letting out a giggle.

"So then, Rowen. I think it's time you informed us on what this plan of yours is exactly." Milla said as she focused her attention on Rowen, interested in the plan that the old butler had come up with, "I know that whatever plan you've come up with is a good one, and it seems Naruto has already figured it out. So please share it with the rest of us."

"Very well," Rowen replied as he closed his eyes to think about his plan. "After everything that we had gone through at Fort Gandala the first time, it would be sufficient to say that trying to force our way through it now would be nothing sort of a suicide mission."

"That's putting it bluntly." Alvin commented with a shrug of his shoulders and a shake of his head. "Especially after what I saw as we were escaping from that place."

Rowen nodded his head, turning his attention back towards Milla. "Indeed. While Master Jude and Miss Elize were taking care of your injuries in the carriage, both Alvin and I had seen the fortress' security golems activating just as we made our escape."

"And those are?" Milla questioned with a cock of her head.

"Weapons made by Humans using Earth Spirits." Elize quickly answered making a few heads turn to look at her.

Naruto rubbed the back of his head as he looked away, "I've heard of those things. Annoying bastards that are pretty tough for anyone to defeat. If I remember correctly, they were made to be very durable too, so it would take a large number of fighter to take them down."

"An entire division of soldiers to be more precise, and that would only be if the division had come up with a brilliant strategy that was sure to succeed." Rowen added with a shake of his head, "But that brings me to what I have in mind. Since the path through Fort Gandala is closed and we are unable to use the sea route to get to Fennmont, then that leaves us with one option."

"…?! You're suggesting that we cross over to Fennmont by foot using the lands that connect it to Auj Oule!" Jude deduced.

"We'd definitely be getting our exercise in with that kind of hike, but what about the Fezebel Marsh?" Alvin pointed out making Jude nod his head in understanding while Elize, Teepo and Milla had looks of confusion on their faces.

"It's a swamp that is north of Fennmont, so large that it actually connects to both Tulea Tundra and Silea Tundra. To areas of Auj Oule that are just outside of Kanbalar, where the king of Auj Oule lives." Naruto explained before his head perked up and his gaze turned to the side where a crewman was walking to a large barrel. "Hmm…?"

"They say it's supposed to be the natural equivalent of Fort Gandala when it comes to fortification." Jude continued Naruto explanation to the girls, no one noticing as Naruto silently started to walk away from the group. "Of course, because of the severe spirit clime of that area, the marsh is said to be impossible to cross on foot."

"Most of the time that is true, but thanks to the interseasonal winds…"

Thanks to the added distance between them, Naruto was barely paying attention to Rowen's voice as he made his way closer to the barrel and managed to stop the crewman from lifting the lid. The blond spirit dismissed the man's confused expression and turned his attention back to the barrel in front of him, placing a hand on the lid… There was no doubt about it, Naruto could sense that someone was inside. Opening the lid up himself, Naruto glanced inside and blink… and again.

"… Huh, I wonder how she is comfortable enough to sleep in there." Naruto wondered out loud making the man next to him curious before he copied the Great Spirit's actions and looked inside, but unlike Naruto's calm reaction the man was a bit more vocal.

"Ah, aaaah!?"

The others members of the group turned their heads to follow the surprised yell and saw Naruto a few yards away staring into a barrel while the crewmember next to him had a surprised look. Jude was the first to react as he and Alvin got closer to the man. "What's wrong?"

"Th-There's a person in there."

Naruto turned to the group with a bored look and motioned for them to look inside, which Jude and Alvin had no problem doing… though what they found made Alvin raise an eyebrow while Jude gained a look of both amusement and annoyance. Inside the barrel was Leia, who was soundly asleep while in a sitting position.

"Isn't this that friend of yours from Leronde?" Alvin questioned as he glanced at Jude for a second before returning it back down towards the sleeping female brunette.

"Heh heh…" Jude let out a dull laugh as he looked away awkwardly, "Yeah, a real barrel of fun."

"… That pun was awful." Naruto commented as he looked at the two next to him, "Should we wake her up?"

It took them a while to wake Leia up after getting her out of the barrel, mostly because she was a heavy sleeper… and she kept hitting Jude when he tried to wake her up. After a few more attempts they managed to wake her up. Currently the girl was rubbing her head sheepishly as she glanced at an annoyed Jude, who had a bruise on his cheek, and the rest of the group standing in front of her. The headband wearing brunette then let out a soft yawn which seemed to only make Jude release an sigh as he watched the girl continue to sway side to side like she did whenever she had gotten caught by her parents after causing trouble.

"Ahahaha… Sorry, I got so bored waiting that I guess I musta fallen asleep." Leia said with an embarrassed laugh,

"Good, then you'll be well rested for the return trip home. Because that's where you're going after this ship hits land." Jude replied as he gave the girl a hard stare.

"Return trip, not a chance! I'm coming with you guys."

"This isn't a game Leia."

"I know that."

"Things are going to get really dangerous and you can get really hurt."

"And so could you."

"But I've got more experience with this sort of thing."

Naruto, Milla and the others were in complete harmony as their heads moved back and forth between Jude and Leia whenever the other spoke, it was like watching an old married couple argue with each other. But it was quickly broken as Leia focused her attention on Milla and made her way towards the older female of the group.

"It's okay, right, Naruto, Milla?" Leia asked as she came to a stop in front of the girl. "I can come along with you guys?"

Naruto nodded his head as he placed a hand on his hip. "Sure, I don't see why not."

"Hmm, perhaps… But why would you want to?" Milla replied with her own question as she crossed her arms and placed a hand under her chin.

"Wait, seriously?" Jude blinked in surprise as he looked at the two Great Spirits, or former Spirit in Milla's case.

"Your strength and determination really inspired me back at the clinic, both when we first met and then when we were transported to Naruto's home. I honestly thought that you were someone who could do anything she put her mind to and I wanted be just like you!" Leia explained as she intertwined her fingers together over her chest.

"Hmm."

"So you want to change yourself, huh?" Naruto said as he crossed his arms.

"That's right, so what do you say Milla?" Leia questioned as she mirrored Naruto's actions and stared at Milla with a determined gaze.

But it didn't seem to faze Milla as she kept a cool expression as she looked as if she was expecting Leia to say more, "Is that the only reason?"

"To be honest I thought you might say something like that. Which is why I decided to do this," Leia reached into her pocket and pulled out a folded piece of paper before handing it to Milla, who opened it up to read it. "That piece of paper has all the kinds of reasons that I thought of why I should go with you guys."

"You really wrote down your reasons?"

"Yup, over a hundred to be exact!" Leia replied with a wink as she turned towards her childhood friend, but turned her head to see Naruto was about to glance over Milla's shoulder and got in between them. "Sorry Naruto, but that is for Milla's eyes only."

"Uh, sure." Naruto raised an eyebrow at the now nervous girl's expression as she glanced at the piece of paper in the Lord of Spirits' hand. While he was curious about what reasons Leia had written down, Naruto was sure he would find out later from either Milla or Verius if he wanted… what, having the Great Spirit of Heart as a loyal servant/companion made it hard to keep things from him, not to mention he had empathic capabilities of his own so he already knew that it had something to do with Jude based on the powerful emotions she was feeling for him.

After a few seconds, Milla lowered the paper down as let out a laugh. "Hehe, very well. You can come with us. I like you. You're so very… human."

"… You've got to be kidding." Jude's form began to slouch greatly as he let out a heavy sigh.

"Look at it this way…" Naruto started as Leia made her way in front of the group, "With her experience as a nurse, Leia can provide medical support if you and I are too busy with fighting."

"I suppose…"

Coming to a stop in front of everyone, Leia spun around on her feet and raised a hand high above her head. "Okay then, now that it's all official. I am happy to be joining you guys. Thanks for having me!" Despite getting various different looks from the group, Leia only smiled brightly as she cocked her head to the side.

 **(A Little While Later)**

Time had passed by quickly and the group went to various points of the ship as they waited for the vessel to reach Lakutam Seahave. Elize and Teepo were with Alvin, talking about something involving Alvin's past jobs. Milla was currently undergoing one of the exercises that Naruto and Derrick had recommended for her after the former had healed her legs, luckily Leia and Jude were there to keep an eye on her and help out when she needed it. Naruto was current leaned over the railing located at the rear of the ship, enjoying the sight of the vast ocean surrounding the ship.

"So this is where you went Lord Naruto." Rowen voice spoke up behind him.

Despite the arrival of the old butler, Naruto kept his gaze focused on the blue waters ahead of him as he spoke. "Is something wrong Rowen?"

"It is nothing really, I was just curious on how you were adjusting to being back on Rieze Maxia after so long." Rowen replied as he moved closer to the blonde man until he stood next to him, joining Naruto in simply staring out at the ocean.

"Actually I do have prior experience with Rieze Maxia before now, not as I would hope but it has still been enough to keep an eye on this world." Naruto closed his eyes as he felt a small smile grow on his face, "I did put a lot of work into it after all."

"I see, so does this mean that the old legends of the World Tree are true? That it bequeathed Humans the ability to use Mana by forming the Mana Lobes?" Twisting his neck slightly, Rowen watched as Naruto let out a soft laugh as he shook his head.

"Hehe, in a way I suppose that legend is true. There was once a powerful tree that had bestowed a woman with unimaginable power, and it was through her children that that power became accessible for anyone who desired it. In fact, that very power continues to this very day though it is different now. In the several millennia that have passed it has mutated and changed into the Mana that you Humans are using every day." Naruto explained as he opened his eyes, "But going back to that tree from your books, it is very different from the one that you saw earlier."

"So you are saying that the original tree from the legends is-"

Naruto nodded his head as he listened to Rowen's deduction, "Long since been removed from this world. Unlike the World Tree that I had created from the remnants of the original, the Shinju was a dangerous entity that was killing the world. It was after I had destroyed the first one that I had come to realize the importance that the tree brought."

"Importance of the Shinju?" Rowen inquired.

"While it wasn't evident at first, the tree was connected to every living thing on the planet." Naruto held out a hand and created a small orange ball made up of Mana, "By destroying the Shinju I messed with the balance of both the physical and spirit world. So in order to maintain the balance connected myself to it in order to help the world survive."

"That is truly a heavy burden you had placed on your shoulders, even for a Great Spirit such as yourself." Rowen said as he bowed his head in the blonde man's direction, "It may not seem like much, but you've more than earned this old geezer's respect."

"Don't think too lightly of yourself Rowen, from what I have seen and heard through Verius, you are a very good example of why I believe in humanity so much." Dismissing the ball of Mana in his hand, Naruto flashed the Conductor a smile, "Human have the ability to grow, to adapt, to love, to bond, and so much more."

"Hmm, unfortunately I don't think I fall under any of those categories." Rowen replied as he looked towards the ground with an ashamed expression on his face.

"That's where you're wrong." Rowen looked over at Naruto in shock, "I have seen you at your best when you were with Cline and Driselle, as well as your time with Carrie before the incident twenty years ago. It is true that Human create more conflict than any other creature. If a soldier kills someone, someone else will try and kill them, and if they succeed then another will try to kill that person. In a world that have endured the cycles of Hatred, I know of one thing that has overcome it time and time again… Do you know what that is Rowen?"

Rowen let out a hum as he brought a hand up to stroke his beard. "… Such an answer would be difficult to have an immediately answer, but from my years as a soldier I do know of once such thing… Peace."

"Correct, when people can truly understand one another the hatred they feel vanishes and peace is created." Naruto replied before he looked up at the sky, "There was once a man long ago who believe that with his entire being. His land was plague with war, sacrifice and death, but that didn't stop him as he continued down his path for peace until his dying breath. It wasn't him though that achieved that peace, but his disciple who managed to bring everyone together and fight for a single purpose."

"Achieving peace when people can come to an understanding. At a first glance those words seem more like an impossible dream, but at the same time I can't help but believe that they could hold some truth to them as well." Rowen closed his eyes as an image of Nachtigal flashed through his mind, "Even so, I believe the chance for the two of us have long since passed."

"… You're talking about your friend Nachtigal, right?" Naruto questioned as he looked back down at Rowen, who remained silent instead of answering, but that silence was enough for Naruto. "… That disciple I was telling you about, he had a friend as well, and that friend was also lost in the darkness."

"Really?"

"That's right, his name was Sasuke Uchiha. He was a member of a powerful clan of ninjas that descended from one of the founders of their village. I won't go into too much detail for now, but when Sasuke was a boy, his family had planned a coup d'etat to take control of the village. But what they didn't know was that the village leaders had had their suspicions that something was wrong and planted a spy to watch the clan and report everything to them. That spy was one of the most gifted members of the Uchiha clan and one of the strongest ninjas of the village, he was also Sasuke's older brother, Itachi Uchiha." Rowen blinked in surprise after hearing that, "Despite his amazing and unequaled abilities, Itachi was a pacifist from being born during a time of war, so he instantly agreed to the leaders' requests. It was through Itachi that they had learned about the Uchiha's plans."

"Incredible, I can't even imagine what was going through his mind. Having to betray his family like that." Rowen said in disbelief.

A frown quickly formed on Naruto's face as he closed his eyes, "Itachi loved the village with all of his heart, and wanted to protect it from any dangers he could. When he had found out what his clan was planning to do, he reported it to his superiors and mentioned that the possibilities of the matter ending peacefully was impossible… but that's when he was faced with the worst outcome he could've ended up with. In order to protect his village and maintain the peace… Itachi… was ordered to kill every single member of his clan."

Rowen could help back but take a step back at this, his eyes widening greatly. "That is… no, I suppose that would make sense." The old man quickly regained his composure at that before shaking his head, "To prevent a civil war from breaking out, I suppose that was the only option they had left."

"That's right, and Itachi suffer while he was making his decision. But in the end he made his choice, he would murder his clan and become a criminal in order protect the village from the shadows. But this is where Sasuke comes in… If there was one thing that Itachi loved more than anything in the world, more than his parents, more than his friends and clansmen, even more than the woman he loved and the very village itself, that was his precious younger brother. So just before he carried out his mission, Itachi had gone to the village leader and beg him to spare Sasuke's life." Naruto turned his body around completely and leaded back on the railing, propping his arms on the post as he looked up at the sky. "His request was approved and Itachi went to work, not leaving a single member of the Uchiha Clan alive no matter who they were. It was his parents that were the very last to fall to his blade, and as soon as his task was finished, Sasuke had arrived to find everyone dead. Even as it was killing him inside, Itachi knew that Sasuke had no idea about the coup and continue to play the villain. It was his actions that night that sent Sasuke down the path of an avenger."

"Yes, I suppose that would make sense. It is a dark path indeed, one that Lady Driselle or I could have walked ourselves after Lord Cline's death."

"The darkness in Sasuke grew as his desire to grow strong enough to kill Itachi fueled him, so much so that Sasuke eventually left the village to join one of its greatest traitors in exchange for power. The disciple had done his best to try and prevent Sasuke from leaving, but Sasuke was set on cutting his bonds with everyone. The two of them fought, Sasuke held nothing back as he even tried to kill his friend, while the disciple did everything in his power to subdue Sasuke… Eventually the battle ended in Sasuke's favor and he left his defeated best friend on the battlefield." Naruto lowered his head down until he met Rowen's gaze, "Years passed and soon Sasuke was ready to kill Itachi, and he succeeded… But it was after that battle that Sasuke had learned the truth on what happened between Itachi, their clan and the village. The desire for revenge in Sasuke remained and now pointed itself at the village, angered by the sacrifice that his brother had went through for a village that branded him a traitor."

Rowen did nothing as he continued to listen to Naruto's story, "Such a troubled young man."

"He definitely was, and when his old friend had found out about some of the horrible actions Sasuke had committed in his desire for revenge, he couldn't believe it. He thought that Sasuke would've returned to the village with his brother dead. The disciple knew that he would eventually have to do something about Sasuke, but with his disbelief and strained heart he was confused on what sort of action he should take." One of Naruto's hands tightened into a fist as he closed his eyes, "So he decided to confront Sasuke one more time, to fight him one more time… and find his answer."

"I see... may I ask what course of action did he take? Did he save his friend, or kill him?" Rowen questioned as he thought of the similarities that this Sasuke and his friend had to him and Nachtigal.

"It was taken a lot of time and effort, but eventually the disciple was able to reach Sasuke. I can't say whether or not your situation will be the same Rowen, but all I can say is that you will find your answer." Naruto answered with a shake of his head before he pushed off the railing and placed a hand on Rowen's shoulder, "You might find it now or at the exact moment that you confront Nachtigal, but no matter what decision you choice you must stick with it to the very end.

"Thank you for your advice Lord Naruto, it is a great help for this old man and his problems." Rowen bowed to Naruto, who nodded his head before he walked off to leave the man to his thoughts. Rowen turned his attention back to the ocean that shined from reflecting the sun's light, "… This is a truly beautiful world Nachtigal, and despite the changes in our lives it is still the one that we grew up with… the world that we wanted to protect for our kingdom."

 **NMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMM**

"So this is Lakutam Seahaven, it's certainly different from the Leronde spirit clime." Leia commented as she and the others walked off the boat and headed towards the stairs. "I'm so glad I get to really see the world now and how different it is."

Jude couldn't help but laugh at that, "Yeah, it was a big change for me as well during the first few weeks I stayed at Fennmont. It was like night and day in comparing them, literally." The medical student paused as a thought came to mind and he glanced over at Leia with a frown, "But even, you can't just sneak onto a ship. That's against the law."

"Oh, really? Is that so, Mr. Rashugal's Most Wanted." Leia replied with a deadpanned expression.

"She does have you there." Milla commented with a small smile which made Jude let out a sigh as his shoulders slouched.

"I'm surprised they didn't try to charge us for a ticket when they saw you." Naruto said as he looked back towards the ship to see several of the sailors holding slips of papers in their hands.

"That was easy, instead of money I gave them free coupons for my parent's lodge."

Naruto raised an eyebrow after hearing that and look over at Leia's smiling face, he could hear Shadow's voice speak up as he stared. **_'A few coupons equaled the price of a voyage ticket? Just how much does her parents charge for rooms there?'_**

 ** _'Lord Naruto, I don't suggest you stay a night at their lodge. Who knows how much they'll charge you for it!'_** Aska's voice called out making Naruto nod his head in agreement.

"By the way, how were you able to figure out that we were headed to Lakutam Seahaven?" Rowen asked as he tried to figure out how Leia figured out his plans.

"Hehe, funny story." Leia replied as she rubbed the back of her head.

Naruto's head perked up as he heard Verius say something to him and felt a sweatdrop form behind his head. "You went on a ship you thought was going to Sapstrath and ended up on our Lakutam-bound ship?"

"That's right! How did you know?!"

Jude blinked as he stared at his childhood friend, "So you got on the wrong ship, and found us purely by chance?!"

"Dumb luck is truly a frightful thing." Rowen muttered to himself, though Naruto managed to hear him and only nodded his head in agreement. The blonde knew from personal experience how much luck could really help out when you least expected it.

"Hey, isn't this place near Nia Khera. Did you want to go visit them or something?" The group came to a halt at the top of the stairs at the male brunette's words while Alvin turned his head toward Milla, who crossed her arms over her chest as she narrowed her eyes at the mercenary. "It's been a while since you've been there and I'm sure the villagers there are worried about you. They do worship you after all."

'Nia Khera huh? It's been a long time since I been there.' Naruto thought to himself as he noticed the tension between Milla and Alvin, knowing that it mostly had to do with the latter's revealed affiliation with Exodus. Not that his comment just now helped with her suspicions of his true objective. 'Hopefully that will change soon.'

"I do appreciate your concern for the well-being of the villagers, but we don't have time for detours." Milla said as she turned away from Alvin, who rolled his eyes at his actions.

"By going through the northern exit, we will reach the Lakutam Highroad. If we continue following its path north we should reach the city of Xian Du." Rowen explained as the group reached the exit, "The spirit clime's shift into Ragnome has effected all of the monsters in the area, so we shouldn't run into too much trouble as we cross through the highroad."

"And that includes the Lord of Lakutam? That isn't a monster we want to mess with." Alvin pointed out while he narrowed his eyes at the thought of the rumors regarding the beast.

"My, you are well informed. But you have nothing to worry about, the Lord of Lakutam will become positively timid just like any other monster during this time of year. We shouldn't have anything to worry about, the beast will no doubt try to avoid the highroad." Rowen explained as he placed his hands behind his back.

"See, little buddy? No reason to be scared!" Teepo teased as looked over towards Alvin with a giddy expression.

Alvin shook his head as he waved his hand in a dismissive motion, "Just for that, don't expect me to be the one to pluck you from between the monster's teeth, spud."

Elize let out a laugh as she watched the two converse, while Naruto and the other shook their heads in amusement. The Great Spirit of Mana turned his head towards the exit, "Regarless we should all be on guard as we head through the highroad, because there's no guarantee on what we'll come across while we're in there."

"Right." Everyone else in the group replied before they continued to head towards the exit, Milla remaining still as Alvin walked passed her.

"Hmm…" The female Lord of Spirits narrowed her eyes deep in thought as she glanced at Alvin's back, though he seemed to ignore her gaze. Feeling a hand place itself on her shoulder, Milla turned her head to see Naruto staring at her and turned her head away from him. "He's planning something that much is certain."

"Maybe, but that is probably because he doesn't trust that I will stay true to my word. Until I prove that I can follow through with what I said I could do, he will continue to focus on his own agenda, but that should be changing once we reach Xian Du." Naruto explained as they watched the group reach the exit and turn to face them once they noticed Naruto and Milla were not among them.

"Let's hope that he does change, because I will not let him get in the way of my mission." Milla replied as she turned around to face the exit, but she looked back to face Naruto. "I suppose you are going to say that is wrong."

"You already know the answer to that, but I know that won't change your mind. All I can say is have faith that things will work out." Naruto said with a grin while Milla only tilted her head at his words.

"Faith? This is one of those Human words, isn't it? I don't believe simply having hope or being positive will do anything for me or my mission. Only action and my determination will create any progress or move me forward, such things like faith or hope is something Humans turn towards to believe that everything will turn out alright."

"There is nothing wrong with having a little hope. Because that is what makes you Human, right?" Milla's eyes widen slightly as Naruto continued to smile at her before he walked ahead of her.

The woman looked down and brought a hand up to her chest, right over her heart. "… What was that strange feeling just now? Why did I feel that pain in my heart when he said that?" After a few moments Milla shook her head to dismiss the feeling and followed after Naruto to rejoin the group. Once everyone stood at the exit of the Seahaven, they made their way onto the highroad, with Alvin having one last thing to say as they stared out at the mountain terrain.

"On the bright side, we'll get some nice scenery in while we're being attacked by the monsters."

 **NMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMM**

 _And with the second chapter done, the group's journey to Fennmont starts with traveling to the city of Xian Du. Read and find out what happens next chapter. L_ _ike always with all of my works be sure to leave some nice reviews, but remember that all flames and insults will be IGNORED, so don't bother writing them. I hope you enjoyed reading and I hope to see you again._

 ** _A/N 2:_** _The next story that I am currently working on is **Red Threads of Fate** and then I will work on my **Fairy Flame Dragon** story. _

**_A/N 3:_** _Lately I've been wanting to see what it would look if one of my stories was written with that Reading/Watching Genre that been getting very popular lately. I don't know who would be interested in doing it with one of mine, but I really hope someone could give it a try._

 _Until Next Time!_


	3. Road to Xian Du – Part 2

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the 'Tales of' series, the ones who do are Masashi Kishimoto and_** **_Namco Tales Studio. I also don't own any other anime, its characters, or abilities that might appear in this story except for any OC's that will appear. And so, without delay… Sit back, relax and enjoy the story._**

People Talking – "I will complete my mission!"

People Thinking – _''Ludger is good, but Elle is the best! Elle Yeah!'_

Spirits Talking – **"This is my resolve as a Great Spirit"**

Spirits Thinking – **_'I'll never go back on my word.'_**

Skits – "All Hail Emperor Rollo"

Chapter 3

Road to Xian Du – Part 2

"I'm always surprised at how you're able to channel Spirits without having to perform an incantation." Rowen commented as he watched Milla finished off the last remaining monster with a **Fire Ball** , setting the Skunky aflame before she followed with a quick slash of her blade.

Turning her head to look at the older man with a raised eyebrow, sheathing her sword smoothly into its sheath. "Is it that surprising?"

"No normal Human can do that." Jude spoke up as he placed his bracers away, joining the conversation as he, Naruto, Elize and Teepo walked up to the two. The black spheres hovering behind Great Spirit of Mana's back moving in a clockwise manner before seemingly vanishing from sight. So far, Naruto had only used his hands to control the spheres and mentally ordered them to attack the monsters that got close to him, using his bare hands to knock away the monsters that got too close to Elize and Rowen when either were in the middle of their channelings.

"When channeling a Spirit the incantation is supposed to serve as the contract between the parties." Rowen explained as he moved his arms behind his back.

"So how do you channel Spirits without a contract?" Elize asked as she and Teepo focused their attention on the older, buxom girl.

"I don't do anything particularly special." Milla answered with a shrug of her shoulders while Naruto scratched his cheek as he looked away, "When I offer my mana to the Spirits, I just infuse it with my desires."

"Yeah… I don't think, _"Get your act together and use your artes"_ is a good way to get the Spirits to help you out." Naruto commented loud enough for the others to look at him, "What? I am the Great Spirit of Mana, you don't think part of my role is to watch over the contracts between Humans and Spirits when mana is being used?"

"That doesn't sound like a contract at all." Teepo stated as he floated away from Milla and hid behind his best friend.

Elize's eyes were wide at what both Naruto and Teepo said, "That's a threat!"

"It's not good to coddle people, be they Spirit or Human." A smile formed on the female Maxwell's face as she crossed her arms over her chest, the strangely calm expression on her face causing the youngest members of the group to move back in fear, "Wouldn't you agree?"

"Y-Yes, ma'am!"

"Wh-Whatever you say!"

"That's a scary answer when you think about it." Leia whispered to Rowen and Jude, with the former nodding his head in agreement, as they watched both Elize and Teepo quickly reply to the oldest female's comment.

"It certainly was a surprising one indeed." Rowen replied as he stroked his beard.

Jude had an uneasy smile as he spoke up next, "With Mila, when is her answer not?"

"Speaking of Spirits, where did you learn how to channel them yourself, little lady?" Alvin questioned as he looked down at the youngest member of the group.

"Where…?" Elize brought a hand up her face as she meekly looked down at the ground, "I don't remember."

"Elly is just really talented!" Teepo spoke up as he flew up close to Alvin's face, the earlier fear he showed forgotten as he praised the girl with a large grin.

"That's why I asked." Alvin said as he rested his hands behind his head, "I've been all over, but I've never seen a kid with anywhere near the level of skill that you've got. I'd say you are already on a master level."

"Really? I was already channeling the Four when I was younger." Milla spoke up making Alvin send her a deadpanned expression.

"I think it's obvious to say that you're a special case," Alvin said to the multi-colored hair woman before turning back to Elize. "Although it does sound like Elize here can channel Spirits based on intuition alone, just like Milla."

"Wow, you're really something." Jude commented, making the girl blush at the praise.

Teepo did a little spin as he did a little dance, "You betcha~! Jude knows what's what!"

"Just remember that having power doesn't change the fact you're still a child. In combat, your priority should be self-protection." Milla interrupted as she started walking once again towards the direction of Xian Du. They had already made good ground so far and true to what Rowen had said there had been few monsters to stand in their way, but those delays had kept building up and the day looked like it would be coming to an end very soon. That would make things much more difficult for them to avoid monsters and continue their journey safely.

Elize looked sadly at Milla's back after hearing her words, only to feel something rest on her head and rubbed it making her look over to see Verius standing next to her and was using his tail to gently rub the top of her head. **"Don't let her words get to you Elize, she is only saying that out of concern for your well-being. The warmth in her heart of her care for your wellbeing overpowers the coldness of her words."**

"T-Thank you, Lord Verius." Elize replied meekly, knowing that the Great Spirit of Heart knew more than anyone what goes through a person's heart and what they are feeling.

 **"You don't need to be so formal with me or the other Great Spirits, calling us by our names is perfectly fine."** Verius said with a nod of his head before transforming into a ball of light and entered Naruto's body as the blonde male Spirit caught up to Milla's side.

"You need to work on how you talk to people, especially children." Naruto commented as he glanced back at Elize to see that the girl's mood was much brighter as she and the others followed the two Great Spirits, well… former in Milla's case.

"Really? Was there something wrong with what I said? Maybe I should've reworded what I said to something that Jude or Alvin would say…?" Milla questioned with a raised eyebrow which made the man next to her let out a light chuckle. "Is something funny?"

"Powerful you may be, but the Four stunted your social growth by keeping you locked away at that shrine." Naruto said only to receive a raised eyebrow and frown from the woman next to him, before continuing when he saw that she was going to say something. "It doesn't matter if you say that it would've gotten in the way of your mission, there are a lot of benefits to learning how to talk with people."

"And I suppose you know how to socialize better than any of the other Spirits."

"Enough to know how to blend in with a crowd to go undetected rather than call attention to myself," Shrugging after his response, Naruto looked up at the colored sky created from the sunset in the distance. "It definitely helped me out on more than one occasion. Look, you don't have to try and mimic the others or me on how we treat others, I'm sure you'll figure out something that works for you."

Milla stared at Naruto for a few seconds before turning back to the path in front of them, "… I suppose it will be something to look into after I destroy the Lance of Kresnik. I realize what you say does have some truth to them, especially after I went through so much after losing the Four."

"So, tell me, what exactly is this new weapon capable of? Did the machine do anything other than absorb mana and seal the Four inside of it?" Naruto asked as he crossed his arms, recalling what he had learned from Jude and Milla earlier that day when they explained what happened to the Four. His question caught Jude's attention as the black-haired medical fighter quickened his pace a little to catch up to Milla and Naruto before speaking up.

"Beside it taking our mana, the machine didn't do anything else. Though I think it was because the Four's interference that things didn't continue whatever it was doing… not to mention…" Jude went silent as he recalled Milla grab an object from the control panel of the Lance of Kresnik and removed it causing it to take a disk-like appearance. Jude turned his gaze to Milla, who silently shook her head as a silent message to not say anything making the teen turn his head back to Naruto. "No, never mind."

"… If you say so," Naruto turned his head back to look at the path himself and noticed a large gap coming up. "Okay everyone, how about we take a quick break over there at the path? There should be plenty of shade for us to relax and get our energy back up."

"I'm all for that." Leia called out while raising a hand high into the air, "I could use a breather after all that walking."

"If Elize doesn't take a break now, her feet are gonna get all achy and smelly!" Teepo stated only for the embarrassed girl next to him to grab him by the cheeks and started stretching him.

"Teepo~!"

A small smile grew on Rowen's face from the scene before turning his head to look at Milla, "It would be wise to rest while we have the opportunity before we continue onward. At our current pace, I am certain that we will need another day to reach Xian Du."

"… Very well, but as soon as our break is finished we'll continue our journey." Milla relented as she crossed her arms, "Even if we don't get there today we should try getting as close as we can nightfall, before heading out tomorrow will speed up our arrival time. Stay vigilant."

"I can agree to that." Jude said, before hearing a bird screeching and looked up to see a familiar bird flying over their heads, "Expecting another message, Alvin?"

"No, but I'd say the timing is perfect." The brunette replied with a shake of his head.

"Huh?" Milla looked confused at the two's words.

"I've seen Alvin use that bird to send letters…" Jude moved in closer to Milla and Naruto before whispering the last part to them, "To a woman apparently."

 _'A woman? Could it be his mother…'_ Milla thought to herself as she processed what Jude had said to them and the earlier conversation that Naruto had with the mercenary in the Mathis Clinic.

"Well, it's a good thing we're taking a break." Alvin said as he looked down from his messenger bird to his companions, "I'll look at it once we get to the resting point. Sorry, I'll be done in a jiffy."

 **(Skit - Chakra?)**

 **Jude: Naruto, you've been around for a long time, right?**

 **Naruto (Nodding his head): Correct, long before mana even existed in this world.**

 **Jude (Blinking in shock): Before it existed?! But how is that possible? I thought mana had always been a part of the world.**

 **Naruto (Laughing a little): That's actually a misconception. Believe it or not, mana was actually a different source of energy that was a lot stronger and more refined than mana.**

 **Rowen (An intrigued look on his face): Something even stronger and more refined? I think I've heard of that somewhere, but I can't remember.**

 **Naruto (Grinning as he places hands on hips): I'd be more surprised if you did since it hasn't existed for, let's see… Almost 3.4 million years now.**

 **Alvin (His eyes widening): Holy crap, you're an old man!**

 **Naruto (Eyebrow twitching): … Call me old again, I dare you.**

 **Alvin (Quickly moves away): Hehehe, sorry.**

 **Rowen (Brushing his fingers through his beard): If you don't mind me asking, what was this energy source called?**

 **Naruto (A serious expression): It was called chakra.**

 **Jude (Moving into his thinking pose): Chakra? That sounds like one of those old meditation things.**

 **Naruto (Shaking his head): No, that is just a made-up concept to seeing enlightenment. Real chakra was a mixture of the spiritual and physical energy within the body. Chakra was several times stronger than what mana is now, especially since the chakra network was much larger than the mana lobe.**

 **Alvin (Raising an eyebrow): Chakra network, huh?**

 **Naruto: Think of it like the blood vessels in the Human body except for chakra, it literally was as big as your entire body and continuously had chakra flowing through these pressure points called Tenketsu. It was through these points that chakra could be released, though only certain people could release chakra from points beside their hands and feet. This was way before Spirits and Humans worked together, but it was thanks to chakra that Humans were able to perform incredible feats.**

 **Rowen (Looking confused): Amazing feats?**

 **Naruto (Smirking with a thumb pointed at his forehead): Some were able to summon fire from their breaths like dragons, move great distances faster than sound, manipulate nature whenever they wanted. One man I knew created an entire village from the forest surrounding it singlehandedly while another could cut through lightning itself. These incredible feats were known as jutsu, which is now called artes.**

 **Alvin (Eyes widened in shock): It sounds so incredible that it's hard to imagine, and yet it's obvious that you're not lying. But what happened? Why can't we use it now?**

 **Naruto (A somber look on his face): After I created the new World Tree, chakra slowly started to fade and replace itself with mana, and to compensate for the evolutionary change in their bodies, the chakra network started to shrink and focus itself into a single point of concentrated power.**

 **Jude (A look of realization): The mana lobes?!**

 **Naruto (Nodding his head with a grin): Correct… And that's all we have time for! Stay tuned for next week's edition!**

 **Alvin, Jude and Rowen (All shocked):** **There's a next week?!**

(A Few Minutes Later)

While they waited for Alvin to finish reading his message delivered by his bird, the others were spread out with Rowen serving some of his freshly brewed tea. Elize and Teepo were happily drinking their cups while Jude and Mila were talking off to the side, and Naruto was sitting next to Leia sipping on his own cup of tea as the brunette next to him was staring in Jude and Milla's direction. The blonde looked up from his cup to the girl next to him and followed her gaze before letting out a light hum to get her attention.

"You and Jude are childhood friends, right?"

Leia nodded her head at that, "Yeah, we've known each other since we were little kids. Though I suppose we all look like kids to you, huh?"

"Maybe so, I have lived a long time… But you don't have to be so blunt about my age, ya know." Naruto said with a deadpanned expression making the girl next to him let out a squeak.

"I-I'm sorry!" Lowering her head in apology, Leia was met with the sounds of laughter and looked up to see Naruto smirking down at her.

"Don't worry about it, I used to be like that as well a few centuries back. Granted, Shadow and Verius both say that I am still like that at time." The blonde looked up at the colored sky with a smile, closing his eyes as he felt a breeze blow passed them. "… Jude is a lucky kid."

"Huh?!" Leia blinked in surprise at Naruto sudden comment.

"The list you gave to Milla. If I am right than a lot of your reasons for coming with us had a lot to do with him, so I'm saying he's lucky to have a friend that cares about him so much." Naruto explained as he opened one of his eyes to look at Leia with a side glance. "Then again, maybe there is more to it than that…"

"Y-You used Verius to see what I wrote down on the paper I gave Milla! That's invasion of my privacy!" Leia replied in a high whisper as to not get the attention of the others, though she was caught off guard when Naruto shook his head.

Verius himself appeared next to Naruto, his attention focused on the Human girl next to him. **"Lord Naruto didn't ask me to do anything. He is just very perceptive of those kinds of things and figured it out on his own… Though I doubt others will have a hard time figuring out themselves if they actually watched the two of you, it is like watching a married couple."**

"R-Really? Is it that obvious?" Leia asked as she looked down at her hands in her lap.

"If people paid attention to the situation maybe, but the only reason I noticed is because I learned to catch these things… I missed my chances long ago…" Naruto whispered the last part to himself with a bitter smile on his face before patting the girl's head as he stood up, "Keep holding onto your feelings for Jude, because that is how you'll become stronger."

"My feelings… for Jude… will make me stronger?" Leia repeated while tilting her head in confusion, using one of her hands to push Naruto's hand off her head.

"That's right. Someone… once told me that when a person has something or someone precious they want to protect… that's when they can become truly strong." Naruto said as he made a fist with his other hand and patted it against his chest, "Those words have carved themselves into my soul, and now I am giving those words to you."

Leia brought her hands up to her chest and clasped them together, "My desire to protect Jude… will make me stronger. Hehehe, thank you Naruto."

"Heh, no problem." Naruto replied before walking away from the girl until he was a good distance away from everyone, seemingly staring off into the direction of Xian Du… no one noticing that his shadow was several shades darker than it was a second ago, "So… what did you learn, Shadow?"

 ** _'You were right about Milla Maxwell hiding the key to operate this Lance of Kresnik somewhere. She acquired a Spyrix key during the sealing of the Four and gave it to a man named Ivar for safe keeping.'_** Shadow's voice spoke up in Naruto mind, reporting what he had heard from listening in on Milla and Jude's conversations from the shadows. **_'Apparently, the object in question created the channeling circle that captured the Four and will most likely be needed to release them…'_**

A familiar bird screech could be head in Naruto's mind, ** _'Why that rude, little hussy! How dare she keep something like this from our lord, and after all he has done for her.'_**

 ** _'Calm yourself Aska. Milla Maxwell is in her right to be wary of everything around her, besides, I believe it was more of the fact that Alvin was nearby rather than her distrust of our lord.'_** Verius' voice was the next to follow making Naruto chuckle at the argument in his head. Anyone else would've complained or been diagnosed as mad for hearing voices in their heads, but Naruto was used to it by now.

"If Milla distrusts me right now, then all I need to do it earn it. But back to the matter at hand regarding this key and the question as to whether she will need it to release them. She is right to keep it out of the dangerous reaches of anyone who desires the Lance's power, but even so…" Naruto halted his thoughts when he noticed that Alvin had sent his bird back into the air and the group was slowly starting to regroup in the middle before heading out once again towards Xian Du.

 **NUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMM**

"Haaa, today has been one battle after another." Leia complained as she and the others walked through another small gap between the next set of mountains to the next area. "I thought you said that they wouldn't bother us to much since its Ragnome, Rowen."

"Actually, we've been doing very well all things considering." Rowen replied with his arms behind his back, "All of the more fearsome monsters are in hiding, the ones we've been facing are the exceptions to Spirit Clime's change and are small in numbers."

"Just goes to show that you should always be prepared for the unexpected, that was one of the first things I learned when I became a mercenary." Alvin stated as he brushed his gloved hand through his hair. "Thankfully it looks like the Lord of Lakutam isn't around, though we shouldn't assume anything until we reach Xian Du."

"Very true, with your experience on the battlefield it would be wise to follow your advice." Milla said back before noticing that Naruto came to a halt and started looking around, "…?"

"Just how long have you've been a mercenary Alvin?" Jude asked the older man, who chuckled at the question.

Raising his arms to place his hands on the back of his head, Alvin grinned at Jude before answering. "For as long as I can remember, in fact I was already a veteran by the time I was your age."

"Oh." That was the medical student's only reply as he looked sadly at the ground at the thought, but before anyone could say anything else, a new voice spoke up.

"Lady Milla! There you are!"

Everyone, except for Milla and Naruto, turned their heads and bodies at the sound of the male voice coming from behind them, just in time to see a teenager that looked to be a year older than Jude and Leia land on the ground in a crouched position. Finally looking back after he finished scanning the area, Naruto quickly studied the mysterious teen and quickly noticed that he had long white hair, a color he hadn't seen on someone so young in a long time, that was tied into a ponytail with long bangs going down the sides of his face, and olive green eyes. His outfit reminded Naruto of the tribal group that served Maxwell in that village Nia Khera, with a tight black undershirt with a deep blue-feathered collar and over that was a white vest with red lining and silver patterns that extends to his legs, giving it the appearance that he was wearing shorts. There were separated white sleeves on his arms with the same red lining and silver patterns as his vest and red shoes.

Glancing back at Milla, Naruto could see the frown quickly forming on her fac. _'From the looks of it, she is not happy to see this guy… Whoever he is.'_

 ** _'Lord Naruto, judging by my glimpse in his heart, this is the Ivar that Shadow was talking about.'_** Verius' voice spoke up in Naruto's mind, **_'It also appears he is Milla Maxwell's handmaid.'_**

"It's a miracle! You can walk!" Ivar continued as he raised his hands together in a praying manner and lowered his head.

"Ivar? What are you doing here?" Jude question with surprise at seeing the white-haired teen there, to which Leia turned her head to Jude with a confused look.

"Who's this guy?" Leia asked as behind her, Ivar got out of his position with a smirk.

Jude couldn't help but let out a sigh as he noticed the smirk was pointed at him, and answered his childhood's question as simply as he could. "Milla's handmaid."

"… Her handmaid, huh?" Naruto muttered to himself as he glanced back and forth between Ivar and Milla, how was now crossing her arms.

"Now that your legs have healed, you must return to the village at once. Please!" Ivar said as he focused his complete attention only on Milla, this time taking a knee as he moved into his praying pose. "If something else were to happen to you, I don't know what I'd do."

"I can't return yet," Milla replied as she uncrossed her arms and finally spun around to face her handmaid. "I have business in Fennmont."

Ivar immediately shot to his feet at that, "In that case, allow me to accompany you!"

"That won't be necessary." Milla shook her head at that, not paying mind to the white-haired man's mouth drop slightly from her quick reply. "I have all the help I need."

"From these people?" Ivar questioned with a tone of disbelief as his eyes scanned the group, making Naruto's eyebrow twitched as he sensed the anger coming from both Aska and Shadow.

 ** _'How rude! I don't care how cute he is, no one insults Lord Naruto like that!'_**

 ** _'I agree, perhaps we should teach him some respect, Aska.'_**

 ** _'Calm down you two, he is only speaking out of concern for Milla Maxwell's wellbeing. Just like we would when it comes to Lord Naruto's safety.'_**

Dismissing the voices arguing in his head, Naruto took several steps towards Ivar, who quickly noticed the blonde approach. "What do you want?"

"…" Naruto gave no response as he just stared at Ivar with a semi-blank face.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… Not only are you rude, but you've got major issues too." Naruto finally said causing Ivar to take a step back in surprise before gritting his teeth and glared at the Great Spirit, "You barely know anything about any of us, and yet you act as if we are below you. Just because you are Maxwell's **_current_** handmaid doesn't mean that you're the best nor are you the strongest here."

"H-How dare you?! Who do you think you are?" Ivar demanded as he pointed his index finger at Naruto, only to blink in surprise as he felt his body being lifted into the air before being slammed onto his back. The white-haired teen stared in shock as Naruto let go of his finger with a grin.

"Me? I'm the one who healed Milla's legs and restored her mana lobe."

"You… You say you're the one who healed Lady Milla's legs? Don't be ridiculous!" Ivar quickly got back to his feet as he glared up at Naruto, "How dare you take credit for this miracle! It must've been due to Lady Milla's divine power!"

"No, Ivar. Naruto is telling you the truth, he really did heal Milla's legs." Jude defended Naruto as he took a step forward, not only to tell Ivar the truth, but also to stop the dark-skinned teen from enraging the Great Spirit in front of him or the other Great Spirits that were loyal to him.

"Don't lie to me, you phony! Beg for forgiveness! Atone for your blasphemy!" Ivar shouted as he angrily moved his right arm wildly as he glared at Jude.

"What is he talking about?" Elize asked Jude as she and Teepo looked at the black-haired teen, who looked away with an awkward chuckle.

"It's a long story."

Rowen took a quick glance at Jude before speaking up, "It would seem that Jude keeps the most eccentric company. All of his acquaintances are so unique… Though I must say that yelling at a Great Spirit isn't the smartest thing to do."

"Well, there aren't a lot of people who know about Great Spirit of Mana," Leia added with a weak smile. "Especially with the healing powers that Naruto has."

Leia's words made Ivar halt himself as he registered what she had just said, moving his gaze around to the other members of the group to see their reactions. Alvin had simply shrugged his shoulders with his usual easygoing grin, Rowen merely nodded his head slightly while Elize held Teepo closer to her as the stuffed toy's mouth opened widely, and Milla, who was now standing next to Naruto, placed a hand on her hip as she stared back at Ivar. Finally, Ivar's gaze went back to the man in front of him, who was looking down at Ivar with a grin as several black spheres hovered behind his back.

Raising his hand in a mock salute, Naruto only said one thing to the younger man with a crooked grin on his face, "So… should I be begging for forgiveness too? For speaking blasphemy?"

"Uh, uh… Forgive me! I didn't realize you were a Great Spirit like the Four or Lady Milla!" Ivan went into a dogeza position as fast as he could with small beads of sweat fell down his face, realizing how deeply he messed up. "And please! Accept my gratitude for helping Lady Milla with her recovery!"

"… Meh, don't worry about it." Naruto replied with a shrug as he looked away from the repentant white-haired teen, glancing next to him at Milla, who was frowning at Ivar's bowing form.

"Ivar," Milla spoke up making her handmaid look up at her to see she was crossing her arms over her chest. "I gave you an important mission, did I not? Why are you here?"

With a small glimpse of fear at her words, Ivar lowered his head again before answering Milla's question. "I've not forgotten about the defense of the village. In addition, I have kept the item you entrusted to me in a safe, hidden location that no one else besides me knows about." As Milla listened to Ivar's explanation, Naruto noticed that Alvin glanced away briefly at the mention of the item that Milla had given Ivar. "However, I recently received this."

Naruto and the others watched as Ivar take out a piece of paper from his back pocket and held it out to Milla, who took it from him and read the message out loud. "Maxwell is in danger. You must rescue her at once."

"I rushed off to find you immediately. It was only just now that I managed to catch up with you, Lady Milla." Ivar explained as he returned to his bowing position.

"Who could've written something like this?" Jude wondered as he looked at Milla's back.

The woman had shifted into a thinking pose as she thought the same thing in her head before lowering her arms, "I wonder… In any case, it's mistaken. As you can see, I'm perfectly fi-"

Milla was cut off as a loud roar could be heard making everyone look up to see a large brown monster that looked to be a cross between a boar and a bull, and was covered with spikes and several red horns that were much larger than the others. The others could see that the monster had come to a halt and turned its head to look at them, kicking its front right hoof into the dirt.

"Everyone, get out of the way!" Naruto shouted to the others in the group as the monster started to charge towards them with the horns on its head poised to skewer them.

"Ivar, run!" Milla ordered to the dark-skinned teen who was confused at the sudden directions.

"Huh?" Ivar stood up straight as he watched the others run before turning around and was shocked to see the large beast was already a few meters away. But just as the beast's horns were about to run Ivar through, Naruto launched one of his spheres at Ivar and slammed into his side, sending the teen flying off into a nearby boulder. "UGWAH!"

"… Oops?" Naruto sweatdropped as he and the others watched Ivar comically slide down the boulder until his lower half connected with the ground and fell onto his back.

"We can worry about him later, let's take care of this thing first!" Alvin stated as he and the others pulled out their weapons. The Brutaur let out a roar as it looped around before charging at them once again, Rowen and Elize moving a distance back while Jude and Leia leapt to the right of the Brutaur and Alvin and Milla moved to the left, and Naruto leaped high over the horned beast as it swung its head back and forth to strike the airborne Great Spirit. The Brutaur continued its rampaged charge until it collided with a large boulder, demolishing it as it continued its running before sliding to a halt and kicked the dirt.

"You've got to be kidding me!" Leia shouted as she and Jude ran towards the Brutaur, forming a link as they moved in sync and attack it with Jude's fist and Leia's staff, but the Brutaur seemed to shrug it off as it tried to swipe it's horn at the two.

"It looks really pissed off." Teepo whimpered as he trembled next to Elize as she moved to hold her wand with two hands.

Rowen grimaced as he watched the Brutaur try to attack Leia again, only to come to a halt as Alvin fired several bullets into its face making it flinch and turn its head slightly to have the bullets hit its glowing, red horns instead. But by doing this, the Brutaur also turned its head away from the members of the group in front of it, "I don't understand, how this could happen…"

Taking the opening that Alvin created, Milla jumped into the air with a spin and slashed at the Brutaur's head, leaving a decent cut behind before she was forced to dodge the near-impalement as the spikes coming out of its side extended out and tried to run her through. Sliding back in a crouched position, Milla stood straight as she narrowed her eyes, "It doesn't matter. For now, we need to focus on taking this monster down."

"Hang in there everyone!" Jude shouted out as he, Leia, Alvin and Milla surrounded the Brutaur and continued their melee assault on the creature, who took several blows that didn't seem to even faze it as it spun in a complete 360 and knocked all four of them away. The black-haired teen quickly regained his balance with a back-flip before turning his head towards Leia and Milla, who were both copying his movements by flipping backwards as well, but his surprise a few toad-like monsters appeared under them. "Leia! Milla!"

The two turned their heads back to see that the monsters were waiting for them to land and were ready to attack the two girls, but just before Leia and Milla landed, a familiar black sphere moved under them and flattened into a disk before expanding out large enough to catch the two. The confused monsters didn't have time to figure out what happened as a dark vortex appeared under them and a scythe emerged from the vortex, spinning at an incredibly fast rate and slicing the monsters apart with ease. Milla, Leia and Jude turned their heads to see Elize was pointing her wand at the girls, signifying that she was the one who cast the arte, while Naruto had his head turned to look at them.

"Are you two okay? Elize called out worriedly as she dismissed the vortex, allowing Naruto to lower his black disk low enough for Leia and Milla to get off before he turned it back into its previous form and called it back to its original position.

"Yeah, thanks for the save." Leia smiled at the two before looking off to the side to see several more monsters make their way to the battle, "Where the heck are these things coming from?"

"They must be reacting to the Lord of Lakutam's presence," Naruto explained as Milla ran towards the Brutaur to join Rowen and Alvin in fighting it off, meanwhile Jude leaped back next to them. "I'm going to work with Milla and the others to fight off the big guy, and you guys take care of the others before monsters show up. We might get overwhelmed if we let the Brutaur call for more backup."

"Got it!" Both Jude and Leia said at the same time, neither deciding to argue with the Great Spirit with so many enemies coming from different angles. Forming a link, the childhood friends ran off to fight the smaller monsters.

Turning his head down to Elize and Teepo, Naruto continued to give his orders. "Can I count on you two to back Jude and Leia up?"

"Y-Yes!" Elize replied immediately with a determined look on her face.

"Don't you worry, Elly is super strong!" Teepo said with an equal look of determination.

"Good," Naruto nodded his head before he watched the two leave to join Jude and Leia. _'Divided up like this… The sooner we end this, the better._ ' With those final thoughts, Naruto made his way over to the battle with the big boss and came to a stop next to Milla, "So how are things here?"

"Not too bad, we are pushing it back well enough." Milla answered as she started channeling Spirits once again and launched a small torrent of fire at the Brutaur, who skidded back a few feet before it shook off the remaining flames from its head. It was about to start charging again when Alvin dashed towards its side and slammed his sword into the Brutaurs side, hitting it with enough force to tip it over.

The brunette mercenary landed on his feet before resting his sword over his shoulder, "Finally got the sucker on the ground."

"Don't assume victory is in our grasp just yet, the Lord of Lakutam is only stunned at the moment. Giving us a small bit of room to recover." Rowen said as he passed Alvin a grape gel, which healed the younger man's injuries and made him let out a breath of relief from the pain leaving his body. "This monster isn't feared in this area for nothing."

"Then we'll just have to keep on attacking it until it finally goes down." Naruto stated before turning to Milla, "Did you form a link with Rowen or Alvin?"

"No, they have already linked with each other." Seconds later, Milla blinked in surprise as she felt a familiar sensation go through her body and looked down at her hand before back up at Naruto, "Did you just form a link with me?"

"Yeah. It's the best way for us to attack together, right? Unless you wanted to do a direct tether-"

Naruto was quickly interrupted by a slightly blushing Milla, "W-What are you suggesting?! And in the middle of a battle!"

"What? I don't see what the big deal is. It's not as if I would be getting mana from you, if anything it would be the other way around and I would be filling you with mana."

"I-I had no idea you were that kind of man!"

"… I feel like we missing something really important right now." Alvin whispered to Rowen as they watched the conversation from the sidelines, "Don't think I've ever seen Miss Calm and Composed so flustered before."

"Indeed, we will have to ask them about it later. For now, we need to continue our assault before it gets back up." Rowen's words caught the attention of the other three, who nodded their heads with serious expressions and turned to face the Brutaur. The beast was struggling to get back onto its feet as it focused its gaze on the four, before it finally managed to straighten itself and pose like it was going to charge once again. "Be on your guard, while on its last legs, it will surely get more desperate."

Milla and Alvin charged forward with Naruto a step behind them while Rowen remained behind to start channeling his next art, the former two using their swords to slash at the Brutaur's sides while Naruto commanded his spheres to strike the large beast in several places at once. Milla was quick to combine her artes with her fighting style while Alvin seemed to be able to charge his gun's power into his sword and cover it in a bluish hue that increased the power of his strikes, while Rowen's artes unleashed barrages of ice and water attacks. This continued on until the Brutaur shifted its position and, to their surprise, started digging into the ground until its body was completely submerged under the earth. The three Humans looked around wearily as they tried to figure out where the monster was going to emerge from, but Naruto remained still with his eyes closed. The ground started to rumble underneath their feet until the Brutaur shot out of the dirt with its horns ready to skewer its enemies, only to come to a halt as a hand grabbed onto one of the two larger horns.

"Nice try… But sneak attacks won't work on me!" Naruto shouted as he slammed his fist into the open space in the middle of the dozens of horns, the area around it denting greatly while a few of the horns cracked before Naruto sent the Brutaur flying back.

"Whoa, and here I thought you relied on just those weird balls." Alvin stated with wide eyes and an open jaw as he stared at the large distance between Naruto and where he sent the large beast, "This settles it, all of you Great Spirits are scary."

"To be honest, I have always been a close-ranged fighter. I learned how to create and manipulate my Truth-Seeking Orbs long after I learned how to fight." Naruto explained to the three without turning back to look at them.

"Most impressive." Rowen added as Naruto finally turned his head to face them and gave them a nod.

Milla didn't say anything as she noted the extra damage that had been dealt to the Brutaur, though the damage didn't seem to keep the Lord of Lakutam down as it slowly, and wobbly, returned to its feet. "It doesn't look as this battle is over yet."

"How the hell is that thing still standing after that?" Alvin said with narrow eyes as Milla started channeling her next spell.

"It appears that normal brunt attacks won't do much against this beast with its tough exterior," Rowen commented as he watched the Brutaur spin around lightly and whack Alvin with its hip, stunning the male brunette long enough for the large monster to kick him with its hind legs. "And it looks like our normal spells aren't leaving any lasting damage."

"Then what do you propose?" Milla asked as she finished casting an arte, causing the ground to break apart as spikes slammed into the monster's stomach causing it to let out a pained roar.

This immediately caught Rowen's attention as he narrowed his eyes, studying the Brutaur's movements as it paused to regain its balance, "It looks like your Arte had dealt a large blow. I believe that the Lord of Lakutam in vulnerable to piercing attacks."

"Piercing attack? Than that means Milla and Alvin, right?" Jude asked as he dodged one of the smaller monsters as it tried to attack him from behind, "They've got blades which will make it easier for them!"

"You say that, but attacking someone or something with continuous piercing attacks leaves too many openings and limits what we can do." Alvin replied as he leaped to the side as the Brutaur tried to charge him once again, raising his gun up to eye level as he pointed the barrel at the large foe. The mercenary concentrating his rapid fire at one of the Brutaur's eyes before one shot directly into the monster's eye, making the beast let out another roar as it shook its head wildly from the immense pain it felt from losing its eye. "Well, that either helped us out or pissed it off even more."

"That's kinda broad!" Leia spun her staff to change its position before slamming one end into the forehead of a toad-like monster.

Naruto narrowed his eyes as he stared at the Brutaur, which was started to run around the area wildly, trampling over other monsters as it tried to locate anyone from the group. "… All we need is to deal a decent blow to it with a piercing attack, right?"

"Correct, though I don't think one blow will be enough to defeat it." Rowen frowned as he answered the male Great Spirit, who took a few steps forward as one of his spheres moved to his open hand and rested in his palm.

"No, one blow will be enough. Just keep the other monsters off me until I'm ready." Naruto ordered making Rowen and Milla stare at him for a few seconds before nodding their heads and rejoining the battle, doing their best to keep both the Brutaur and the minor monsters away from the Great Spirit of Mana. "Ready, Aska?"

 **"Of course, Lord Naruto."** Aska's voice replied as a stream of light bent and entered the sphere in Naruto's hand. Mana started to swirl around Naruto as he lifted his hand high into the air, clenching his tightly to the sphere, meanwhile Milla and the others turned their heads in time to hear Naruto call out something that none of them understood.

" **Hoshako Eiseuka!** "

Both Naruto and Aska's voice called out the name at the same time before the sphere in his hand flashed a bright light and a Spirit Arte circle formed over his extended arm before descending his body. As the seal moved passed his head, Naruto's blonde hair smoothened out slighty and shifted in color to resemble the color of Aska's feathers including several red streaks, and as it passed over his clothes, the orange of his trench coat turned into a bright yellow. The sphere in Naruto's hand stretched out wide before it transformed itself into a white and purple bow with Aska's wings as decorations while the middle piece of the bow was Aska's head with his mouth wide open. Lowering his arm to point the bow at the Brutaur, Naruto dismissed the light surrounding him and allowed the others to see his new form.

"Whoa, what happened to Naruto?!" Leia called out in shock as she blinked several times to make sure she wasn't seeing things. After finishing of the last of the minor monsters, Jude was joining the girl in staring in shock at Naruto's new appearance.

"Amazing, I've never seen anything like it." Jude whispered as he could practically feel all of Naruto's mana swirl in the air around him, putting a slight pressure on his body from just looking at the former blonde.

 **"Leave the rest to us. We'll finish this thing off with one blow."** The group was surprised as they heard both Naruto and Aska's voice come out of Naruto's mouth as the transformed Great Spirit walked forward a few steps before coming to a stop and lifted the bow up, raising his other hand to the back of the Aska head where the string was resting. Pinching the back with his fingers, Naruto started to pull back on the string as an arrow of light formed with its tip was coming out of the Aska's mouth like an arrow rest. Mana was flowing around Naruto as he held onto the string that was keeping the arrow at bay next to his face, the large output of mana catching the attention of the Brutaur as it started charging at the calm faced Naruto.

"Why is he just standing there?" Elize questioned as she worriedly watched the horned beast get closer to Naruto.

"That things gonna turn Naruto into a pancake!" Teepo shouted as it hid its head behind Elize.

Alvin narrowed his eyes as he lowered his gun, "… No, he's waiting for the right moment."

 _'What were those words he said earlier? It reminded me of the ancient language that the Four told me about.'_ Milla thought to herself as she watched in awe as a giant, golden magical circle appeared in front of Naruto and his bow.

As soon as the Brutaur had reach a good distance from him, Naruto narrowed his eyes before releasing the arrow in his hand. **"Judgment Arrow!"** The arrow went straight into the circle and to the group's shock, several narrow beams shot out of the circle and hit various areas of the Brutaur's body before the pressure sent it flying into the air high above everyone's heads. Naruto's attack wasn't done however as a large, detailed arrow of light shot out of the circle towards the airborne monster and went straight through it, causing the Lord of Lakutam to explode into hundreds of pieces before disintegrating into dust. Turning his body away from the explosion, Naruto's body started to glow briefly and in a flash Naruto returned to his normal form while Aska appeared behind him. "Well, that takes care of that."

"Incredible! You finished it off with one blow!" Leia called out in amazement.

Placing a hand on his hip, Naruto flashed the girl a wide grin. "It was nothing. Besides, that monster was already close to death anyways."

"Maybe so, but that form of yours sure as hell hammered the final nail on its coffin." Alvin commented as he put his weapons away and then turned his head to look at Rowen, "What was that about it being too timid? I thought you said the Lord of Lakutam would be a pussycat now that it's Solum and Ragnome is here."

"That should be the case… Unless!" A look of realization appeared on Rowen's face as a thought occurred, "With the Four Great Spirits missing, the Spirit Climes have essentially stopped shifting."

"Great. So how will we cross Fezebel Marsh to get to Fenmont?" Jude wondered out-loud, only to receive a bellowing laughter coming from the side.

"Hehehehe… Hahaha, cross Fezebel Marsh? You people are out of your minds!" Several heads turned to see Ivar was back on his feet with a large grin on his face… as well as a comically large lump on the side of his head.

"Oh, he's awake." Naruto said dully with a deadpanned look.

Leia nodded her head with a sweatdrop, "He sure is resilient."

"Only a wyvern could reach Fenmont at this point!" Ivar continued as he crossed his arms with a smirk on his face, "Fortunately, it just so happens that I, the redoubtable handmaid, can be of assistance to Lady Milla."

"Wait, you know how to get there safely?" Jude questioned as he turned his body to completely face Ivar.

"I currently have in my possession a wyvern that is faithful only to me. I would be happy to transport Lady Milla to Fenmont." Ivar continued to brag, not noticing the puzzled look on Naruto's face.

"A wyvern, huh?" Naruto said to himself before nodding his head, "If that is the case, then I **_do_** know another way to get us there."

"Huh?" Ivar was surprised at Naruto's comment and looked at him with wide eyes.

"There is? Tell me." Milla said as she looked away from Ivar.

Naruto nodded his head before crossing his arms, "I had this thought before since we were going to Xian Du anyways, but since we didn't know about the Climes not changing I didn't bring it up. A long time ago, there was a clan in Xian Du that had received Ratatosk's blessing, and they are still thriving there."

"Whose Ratatosk?"

Turning his head Alvin, Naruto scratched the back of his head as he thought about how to explain it to everyone. "He's another Great Spirit, but he is also known as the Lord of Monsters and as such has complete control over them… The problem is that we haven't had contact with each other for a long time so I don't know where he is."

"A Great Spirit that has control over the monster? I never imagined there was such a thing." Rowen stated as he marveled at the mere thought of a Great Spirit with that kind of power. Though considering he had been traveling with a humanized Maxwell and the Great Spirit of Mana, not to mention three other Great Spirits, it shouldn't be too surprising at this point.

"Yeah… It's a bit of a long story, so I won't bore you with the details right now. The main thing we need to focus on it the clan in Xian Du, if I remember correctly, I believe that they are still raising wyverns there." Naruto explained before turning his head to Ivar, "Do you know if they do, Ivar?"

Looking away from the Great Spirit with a frown, Ivar glanced briefly at Milla who was also waiting for a response. "… Yes, that is what I've heard."

"I guess it's a good thing we were heading there anyways." Alvin said as he looked over at Rowen, who nodded his head.

"Yes, onward to Xian Du."

Taking a step closer to her handmaid, Milla placed a hand on her hip. "Ivar, thank you… Ivar?"

The white-haired teen didn't reply as he stared angrily at the ground with his fists clenched tightly.

"Uh, should we go?" Leia spoke up after the long awkward silence.

"Yeah." Jude replied before he and the others Humans started walking away, Naruto staying behind a few seconds to stare at Ivar before following after them.

 ** _'Lord Naruto… That was a bit too cruel…'_** Verius' voice spoke up in Naruto's head as the blonde caught up with the others.

 _'It can't be helped, he is too obsessed with her after serving her for so long… If things turn out how I expect them to by the end of this…'_ Naruto narrowed his eyes as he stared at Milla's back, _'The truth of what Milla is would more than likely crush him.'_

Soon Ivar was left by himself as he stood in the same spot, his body started to shake from the anger he felt. "You lying phony fraud!"

Pulling out his sword, Ivar swung his blade at the boulder behind him… only for it to snap in half and the broken half went straight into his forehead, thankfully not going deep enough to kill him. This action only made Ivar angrier as he reached up and pulled the sword with a growl.

"Krrrrrr….?" Ivar paused as he noticed a familiar bird land on top of the boulder, "That's the same bird that delivered the letter." Seeing the culprit that made him leave Nia Khera in the first place, only to be lead astray and receive Milla's disappointment, made Ivar growl as he threw the broken half of his sword at the bird. "You dirty bird!"

Watching the bird fly away to dodge his throw, Ivar noticed something fall off the bird's leg and land in front of him. Looking down, Ivar bent down and picked up the ties note before he opened it to read its contents.

 **(Later That Night)**

Not long after the group left Ivar, the day quickly turned dark and they decided to set up camp for the night. Alvin, Leia and Milla were assigned to set up the tents and sleeping bags while Rowen and Elize were getting the utensils and other such equipment ready for the dinner that Jude and Naruto had prepped for Naruto to cook with. Deciding to make a stew out of what they had, Naruto got to work on cook the meal in a large pot that he seemed to pull out of thin air. As he was doing this, the others had finished up their tasks and were currently waiting for the Great Spirit to finish cooking, with Elize and Teepo were sitting close to the pot, enjoying the wonderful smell coming from it as they played together Milla was not too far away as she sat patiently for Naruto to finish stirring… with a small speck of drool at the corner of her mouth. Leia, Jude, Alvin and Rowen had made themselves comfortable as they let their bodies relax after the long day they had.

"Hey Naruto, I've been meaning to ask you." The Great Spirit paused mid-stir as he looked up from the stew towards Jude, who was resting his back against a boulder. "What was that transformation earlier that you used to defeat the monster?"

"Yeah, I've never seen anything like it before." Leia added with curiosity in her voice. Alvin turned his head to listen in on the conversation, opening one of his eyes to look at Naruto, while Elize had stopped playing with Teepo and the two looked over as well.

Rowen brought a hand up to his beard, "It truly was an amazing transformation, almost as if you and Aska became one and you could use his powers."

"Well, you could say that." Naruto replied as he let go of the ladle, glancing at Milla had been staring at the stew with until Jude had spoken up and focused her attention on him. Looking at everyone for a few seconds, Naruto finally continued, "… That form you saw was called the Armatus."

"The Armatus?" Jude repeated as he tilted his head in confusion.

"Yeah. The Armatus is originally a form that is created when a Human and a Great Spirit undergo a process known as Armatication. To harness the power of the Great Spirit and morph it into armor." Naruto explained as Aska, Shadow and Verius appeared over their heads and landed in various spots around the group.

"What was those words that you called out before you transformed? It sounded like the ancient language of old." Milla questioned as she crossed her arms as she thought about the words he spoke, which was something that she never got the chance to learn as the Four told her that such a language had been forgotten by time.

"Hoshako Eiseuka, that is Aska's true name." Naruto replied as he stood up from the cooking pot and walked up to Aska before he brought a hand up under the giant bird's beak and gently brushed his hand across the Great Spirit's feathers. "For me to use that form, a deep trust is necessary between me and the Great Spirit that I am in synch with. Not to mention that a divine artifact is needed to form the pact itself."

"What did you mean by true name?" Elize asked innocently as she looked at Naruto petting Aska, "Aren't their names Aska, Shadow and Verius?"

 **"Yes, but all the Great Spirits also have a true name that they've chosen for themselves, it is sort of like a promise that they made to themselves in exchange for their amazing abilities. I believe a Human historian once said "Names have power"."** Shadow stated as he flowed near the young girl, who looked up at Shadow as he spoke. **"As such, the Great Spirit has to completely trust the person that they share their name with."**

"It was a power that a select group of Humans had enough compatibility to use Armatication, this in turn boosted their powers and gave them access to artes that can only be achieved through the Armatus." Naruto explained as he lowered his hand from Aska's beak, turning his head back to the others. "I know the true names to all of the Great Spirits that sworn loyalty to me. As such it is possible for me to use it as well."

 **"If you want Jude, I could share my true name with you as well."** Aska said to the black-haired teen, who raised his hands up in a surrendering manner.

"No, no, I'm good. Thank you though." Jude answered awkwardly, turning his head to lightly glare at Leia, who was snickering next to him.

"Hold on a minute. Didn't you just said that it was a Human ability, so how do you have it?" Alvin questioned as he sat up straight, looking at Naruto with a raised eyebrow. "I mean, no offense, but you're the furthest thing from Human."

Naruto looked away for a split second before answering, "Don't forget that I'm the Great Spirit of Mana itself, such abilities are easy for me to copy and use for my own." Everyone seemed to accept this answer as they silently absorbed what they had been told, though Rowen kept his gaze focused on Naruto as he returned to the stew and added a few spices into it.

Crossing her arms as she let out a hum, Leia glanced over at Milla, "Does that mean Milla has a true name too? Since she is technically Maxwell?"

That question made Milla perk up as the thought went through her mind as well… though now that she continued to think about it, none of the Four had ever mentioned the knowledge about 'true names'. Crossing her arms, a small frown formed on her face as she tried to recall anything that resembled what she had just heard.

Verius shook his head at that question, **"No, the true name that Maxwell had given himself back then is exclusively for his Spirit form. Since Milla Maxwell is currently Human, she does not have a true name until she becomes a Great Spirit and creates one for herself."**

"Enough talk about the Armatus, dinner is ready!" Naruto called out cheerfully as he turned to the others, "Let's eat up and rest up for tomorrow. We've got a little more ground to cover before we reach Xian Du."

"Quite right." Rowen nodded his head as he stood up and walked over to Naruto's side, "Allow me to help you distribute the meal to everyone, Lord Naruto."

"A butler to the end, huh, Rowen?" Naruto joked earning a chuckle from the old man, "Thanks, I appreciate it."

Dinner soon came and went as everyone enjoyed the meal, some more than others as Milla and the other Great Spirits had several more servings of Naruto's stew. Before long, Elize and Teepo had fallen asleep with Leia not far behind, and soon Milla, Jude, Alvin and Rowen had joined them. Not needing to sleep due to being a Great Spirit, Naruto stayed awake as he used several water and wind artes to clean the dishes, meanwhile Aska, Shadow and Verius were keeping watch for any nocturnal monsters. Once he was finished cleaning however, Naruto took notice to one of the sleeping bags being empty. Turning his head to the opening to the crevice behind the campsite, Naruto followed the energy signature until he saw them sitting on one of the largest boulders.

"You should get some rest Jude, who knows what will happen once we reach Xian Du tomorrow." Naruto said to the medical student, who turned his attention from the sky back down to identify the voice.

"Oh, Naruto. Don't worry, I won't be too long." Jude replied before turning his attention back upwards, where the night sky had more stars than anyone could even attempt to count and a strange trail of white stretching across the sky.

Naruto watched Jude for several moments before leaping up and landed right next to him, sitting down as he copied Jude's actions. "I'm guessing you've never really seen a night sky like this before, huh?"

"No, well, kind of." Jude answered as he looked down and rested an arm on his propped-up knee, "It's strange. The Clime always nighttime back in Fennmont, but because of all other lights I never got to see that many stars."

"That's true, but then again, Fennmont does have its share of beauty. I remember staring off at the city for hours, sitting on a hillside and drinking sake." Naruto said as he smiled at the memory.

"You've been to Fennmont?!" Jude asked in surprise as he turned to look at Naruto, who had raised an eyebrow in amusement from the question. "Oh, right. I guess being one of the Primordial Great Spirits like Maxwell means there isn't really any place you haven't been to."

"True… But even I can experience things that are new to me." Naruto replied as he let out chuckle and looked back up at the sky, "Trust me Jude. Living and enjoying life are key points to every living person, even Spirits like me or the Elemental Spirit."

"I guess it's the same for Milla too," Jude added as he thought back to when she collapsed from hunger and then later exhaustion the first time, and the time when both Elize and Sharil pulled her along to go shopping. Looking down at his clenching fist, Jude continued. "Back then, I never imagined I would be on a journey to help the female incarnation of Maxwell and the Great Spirits destroy a dangerous weapon called the Lance of Kresnik. When I first help Milla, I didn't really think about the consequences, my body just moved on its own. People always did tell me that I was too quick to help others."

"That's not a bad thing Jude. In fact, I actually respect you more for it." Knowing that Jude was now looking at him, Naruto closed his eyes. "It might be something that people call stupid or reckless, but kindness is a power itself."

"Heh, yeah right." Jude chuckled as he looked back at the sky.

"… Have you ever heard of the word Jinchūriki before?" Naruto suddenly asked, "I doubt the history books of Rieze Maxia would have them since it existed long before its founding."

Jude brought a hand up to his temple and quietly tried to recall the word, before shaking his head. "No, I haven't. What is it?"

"Not it. Who. The Jinchūriki were a group of nine people, each from different countries, who given heavy burdens that made basically turned them into living weapons." Naruto explained as he lowered his gaze and turned to Jude, "The power each of them wielded were so massive that they could level mountains and destroy villages in one strike if they wanted… Of course, having that much power didn't make them heroes, but pariahs… In each of the villages they lived in, almost everyone in those villages hated, feared or just plain ignored them."

"That almost sounds like… Elize." Jude commented as he thought back to Hamil, when everyone in the village seemed to turn on the little girl.

"It is similar, but multiply that by tens, or even hundreds in some cases. People will always fear things that they don't understand and react negatively to them. But that is not what I am focusing on, what I want to tell you is about one Jinchūriki. His name… was Gaara." Naruto paused as he closed his eyes as he remembered one of his oldest and most trusted friends. "He lived a life with everyone either running away in fear from him or cursing his existence, especially since the power given to him was… unstable in a way, and made it impossible for him to properly sleep. For the greater part of his childhood, Gaara grew up alone and thought that the only person he should, and would, love, was himself."

"That's horrible. But what about his parents?" Jude asked as he tried to process what he heard.

"Gaara's mother died giving birth to him prematurely, but while people told him that she cursed his birth, the truth was that she loved him greatly and swore to always watch over him. His father on the other hand saw Gaara as a weapon and would actually send assassin at him to make him stronger." As he continued his story, Naruto was recalling everything that Gaara had told him about his past. "Gaara had two older siblings, a sister and a brother, but after Gaara had turned his back on humanity, they feared that he could kill them… Even so, both Kankuro and Temari loved their little brother despite the fear."

"So, what happened to Gaara?"

"He met another Jinchūriki, someone who had gone through the same pain as him and yet fought against Gaara to protect the people he cared about." A small grin formed on Naruto's face, "At first Gaara couldn't understand why the other Jinchūriki was so strong, or why he was so determined to live for other people. And the Jinchūriki replied with this, **_"Because they saved me from myself, they rescued me from my loneliness, they were the first to accept me for who I am. They are my friends."_** …" Stretching one of his arms upward, Naruto held out his hand towards the sky, "That Jinchūriki wept for Gaara and the pain he went through, having gone through it himself. In the end, Gaara finally felt kindness from someone who truly cared about him and accepted him, and seeing that conviction opened his eyes to the brighter side of humanity and the bonds between people."

"Kindness did all that?" Jude said with a small amount of disbelief.

"Yup, and it led to Gaara to create his own bonds. He eventually became the leader of his village and all that hated and fear turned to admiration and love." Lowering his hand, Naruto stood up from his seat on the boulder and leaped down. "The reason I am telling you this story isn't just because of your kindness or because you help people… It's to tell you that chance meeting like that and like with you and Milla can either lead to small changes or to big ones. It is all a matter of what you choose to do after that fated meeting, not just following someone else."

"I… I think I get what you mean. You're saying that I have to create my own path separate from Milla, right?" Jude deduced as he looked away from Naruto with a frown, "To be honest, I'm not really sure what path this journey is leading me towards. All I want to do right now is help Milla succeed in her mission."

"As do I, but that is because I want to protect the Spirits like she does and maintain the balance between them and Humans." Naruto placed his hands behind his head as he started walking away, "Thankfully this journey is far from over and you have plenty of time to think of something… Besides, you're still young! Enjoy every moment instead of letting it pass you by!"

"Yeah… Hey Naruto!" Seeing the blonde come to a stop and turn his head slightly, yet not enough to look back at Jude, signaled for the Human to continue. "Thanks for the advice, and the story. I will try to find my answer before this journey is over, and once I do I will let you know."

"… Looking forward to it. Goodnight Jude, don't stay up too late." Naruto replied as he continued his path back towards the campsite, while Jude turned his head back to the sky. After taking a few more steps towards the campfire, Naruto came to a stop and turned his head towards the darkness, "Did you enjoy the story?"

Out of the darkness, Alvin emerged with an easygoing smile. "So, you knew I was there the whole time, huh?"

"Not like you could hide from me, even if you actually tried."

"Probably." Letting the smile fall from his face, Alvin turned his head to where Jude was still located, "I'm sure that story confused the kid more than anything. I doubt he's ever heard of a dark story like that before."

"It's not like Jude is an idiot, he knows what I am trying to tell him." Naruto replied as he turned towards Alvin with a serious look, "It is good to find a purpose in helping someone, but he needed to know that he still has a life of his own."

"Maybe so, but we both know he won't change overnight." Alvin crossed his arms as he looked back at Naruto.

"I know that, which is why it is good that he has other friends to turn to. Even you," Naruto smirked as he reached into his coat-pocket and pulled out a crumbled piece of paper, "Though you seem to be off on changing your ways yourself. Before you ask, this **_is_** the **_second_** letter you left for Ivar, he stupidly tossed it away instead of taking it with him."

"So, you found out about that. That is just my way of keeping my options open, just in case you aren't able to keep your end of the bargain." Alvin stated with a straight face, only to get a laugh in response as Naruto set the ball of paper ablaze.

Letting the flaming paper turn to ash in his hand, Naruto shook his head before speaking. "You certainly got a set on you to boldly say that to a Great Spirit's face… Well, goodnight."

"Huh?" That was the only thing Alvin could say as he watched Naruto continue to walk passed him, "That's it? No threatening me like Miss Maxwell did? No saying that the deal is off?"

Turning his head to flash Alvin a smirk, Naruto had a confident look on his face as he let a small speck of his Mana come forth. "I'm not someone who goes back on his word, ever. I will heal you mother just like I promised, and that will be all I need to prove to you who side you should be on."

Just as Naruto was about to start walking again, Alvin had one last thing to ask. "Hey, about your story… What happened to the other guy? The one that changed Gaara?"

"… Who knows. Some history books say he died saving the world, others say he became the leader of his own village, got married and had kids before living a long happy life… But you know the thing about history books… they're never a hundred percent accurate." With that said, Naruto continued walking away from Alvin, and this time the brunette didn't stop him.

 **NUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMMNUMM**

 **(Entrance of Xian Du)**

Just as Naruto and Rowen predicted, it didn't take long for the group to reach Xian Du's gates before making their way inside. The group was instantly greeted by the sight of two cliffs divided by the large river below, one over the left path which they were on, and another path that was under the right cliff. From the looks of it, several buildings had been built into the cliff themselves and while some stood out more than other looked like that were parts of the cliff that were hollowed out. Taking a glance around, everyone could see that there were a lot of banners and unique decorative ribbons hanging overhead, and some even had designs on them. The biggest thing to stand out was the large structure that was near the very top of the cliffs, with several large pillars holding it in place in midair.

"So this is Xian Du…" Jude started as he looked at the geographical locations of the buildings and their conditions. "Seems like a tough place to build a city."

"Clans have warred against each other in Auj Oule since ancient times." Rowen explained as the group came to a stop to look out at the city. "Such constant conflict has led people to build cities wherever they are able, even in such places like this."

"The city seems especially lively. Are they having some kind of festival?" Milla questioned as she took notice to all the merchants and crowds moving about around the bridge.

 _'I wonder… is it around that time already?'_ Naruto thought to himself before he noticed Leia move forward a few feet before looking up at the large statues nearby.

"Hey, check out this cool statue!" Leia called out to the others, to which they moved closer to get a good look themselves.

"These statues represent a fusion of international Spirit faith and the local tradition of ancestor worship. Or, so I've read." Alvin explained to Leia, who nodded in awe as she continued to stare at the statue. "Yep, just keep your noggin pointed in that general direction, it might save your life."

"Hmm?" Leia turned her head to look at Alvin in confusion after hearing what he said.

Crossing his arms, Alvin repeated his warning. "Don't look at me. Look up! Xian Du is infamous for its falling rocks."

"What?!" Taking a step back in fear, Leia snapped her body around to face Alvin. "Don't scare me like that!"

"You speak as if you know the area." Milla said with a raised eyebrow.

"Been here before," Alvin replied with a side glance before looking forward again. "Business trip."

Noticing Alvin turn his gaze slightly to the building on the opposite side of the river, Naruto let out a hum as he placed a hand on his hip. _'So… over there, huh?'_

"Huh?" Elize muttered to herself as she took a few steps forward and started looking around with a confused look while Teepo copied her movements

"What's wrong?" Jude questioned as he and Rowen took a step closer to the young, platinum-blond girl.

"Hey, this place is familiar, ain't it, Elly?" Teepo spoke up as Elize continued to look around.

"Yes, it is." Elize replied as she looked up at the higher buildings, "Umm… I think we were taken here, on our way to Hamil."

"Did you once live in this area?" Rowen asked.

Elize turned around to face the older man and shook her head, "I don't know."

As the group was looking at Elize, Alvin started walking away, only for Leia to immediately notice before he got too far. "Hey, where're you going?"

"Duty calls." Alvin replied as he stopped to look back at the group before giving them a wave and continued walking, "I'll see you in a bit."

"Hmph! You're not much of a team player." Leia called out as she watched Alvin walk away.

"You okay with him leaving?" Naruto asked Milla in a low voice as she watched the mercenary walk away.

"We can leave him be for now. We both know he'll be back." Milla replied as she looked towards the others, "Let's look for those wyverns."

"All right. I think we should ask around by the bridge, there seems to be a lot of civilians there. Hopefully, they'll know something." Naruto said making the other nod their heads as they started walking towards the bridge, catching notice to some children playing at the end of the steps with one moving to the top and crouching down. Suddenly, the group heard the sounds of something breaking and looked up to see some rubble was started to crack.

"It's going to fall!" Milla exclaimed as she turned her head to Elize as the large rubble fell and leaped at the girl, "Look out!"

"Miss Leia!" Rowen called out to the girl, who was distracted by something on the other side of the river, and moved to get her out of harm's way.

"Jude! The kid!" Naruto shouted as he charged mana into his hand, creating a swirling ball in the palm of his hand.

"Right!" Jude called back as he grabbed the kid and leaped away.

Pulling his arm back, Naruto positioned himself under the largest boulder and slammed the attack into its center. "Rasengan!" The collision of Naruto's attack into the boulder shattered it and reduced it to much smaller rubble, saving everyone from the pieces that would've hit them. Letting out a breath, Naruto looked around in concern. "Is everyone okay?"

"We're alright over here!" Jude said as he and the child in his arms stood up from their position at the bottom of the stairs.

"Elize, are you hurt?" Milla asked as she looked down at the girl.

"I'm fine." Elize replied to which Milla let out a relieved sigh.

"I'm not fine! I'm not fine at all!" Teepo shouted with a freaked-out expression making the two look at him.

Naruto turned his attention to Rowen, who was shaking Leia's shoulder. "Miss Leia, please, wake up."

At this, everyone rushed to the two with worried expression in time to see Leia roll onto her back with a weak laugh, revealing some blood on her shoulder. "Haha, sorry about that."

"Don't worry. I'll have you fixed up right away." Jude said as he held his hands over the wound and started to heal it.

Turning her attention to the man that save her, Leia noticed the large cut on his forehead. "Rowen, you're hurt. I'm so sorry."

"Never fear. It is merely a flesh wound." Rowen reassured the girl with a smile, "You just worry about yourself."

"Here, let me look at that." Naruto said as he placed a hand over Rowen's injury and within seconds the cut and the blood surrounding it disappeared. "There. How do you feel?"

"Much better, you have my gratitude." The old butler bowed his head at the Great Spirit, "Not just for healing my wound. If it weren't for your interference, then the injuries could've been much worse.

Naruto shook his head at that with a smile, "No, I should've made the attack stronger. Then there wouldn't have been much rubble."

Milla turned her head slightly to look at what was left of the boulder that would've crushed them. Except for the several large rocks scattered across the floor, the only thing that remained of the largest boulder was the dust and a ring of cracks surrounding the floor where Naruto had been standing. _'Such a devastating attack for something so small. What was it?'_

Kneeling next to Leia, opposite of Jude, Naruto started reaching out his hand. "Here, let me-"

"I'm a doctor. Let me help." A female voice spoke up causing Naruto to come to a halt and look up in time to see a woman kneel next to Jude and start to use healing artes on Leia as well.

As the woman and Jude were healing Leia, several of the other citizens were looking around in confusion at the strange scene, having expected boulders or more rubble from the explosion that they had heard. But luckily it didn't take them long to clear the path and toss all the rubble into the river. Looking up from the civilians cleaning up the mess, Naruto focused his attention on the edge of the cliff where the boulder and rubble had fallen from. The blonde narrowed his eyes a bit, before turning his gaze to Milla, who looked like she was having the same thoughts he did.

 _'Someone intentionally made that boulder fall!'_

"There you go. Easy does it." Milla and Naruto turned their heads to see the female doctor was helping Leia to her feet.

"Thanks so much. Miss, uh…" Leia started only to realize she didn't know the woman's name.

"The name's Isla. You're gonna be fine." The woman said after introducing herself with a small smile. The woman had dark hair with a thick yellow bang going down the side of her face and was wearing a white and tribal outfit with a dark brownish shirt/vest under her jacket. She also had brown-furred leggings over her boots and a blue feather hanging from her chest.

"Take it easy, Leia." Milla said as she watched Leia stumble a little after getting back to her feet.

"You should sit down for a while." Jude added as he looked at his childhood friend with concern on his face.

"No, I'm okay. Really. Thanks, everyone." Leia said with a small bow of her head.

Naruto noticed that Milla had turned her head away and followed her gaze to see a suspicious looking man looking back at them briefly before hurriedly making his escape, "That's."

"Let him go for now, it would draw too much attention if we started chasing after him." Naruto whispered to Milla, who nodded her head in agreement.

"Some super-pal Alvin turned out to be! He's never around when you need 'im!" Teepo exclaimed as he floated out of Elize's arms. Not paying attention to the shocked Isla as she jumped back, the group watched as Teepo continued to rant. "If he were here, he would've been able to protect Leia!"

"And who do you think just saved the young lady, you intolerable sock-puppet?!" Rowen growled as he grabbed Teepo and angrily started stretching the stuffed animal.

"Give him back!" Elize exclaimed as she tried to take Teepo away from the angry butler.

"Ahahaha." Leia couldn't help but start laughing at the funny scene, returning to her cheerful self.

"Rowen, come one." Jude said as he tried to calm the former war tactician, "Stop, okay?"

Rowen looked over at Jude while still holding Teepo high in the air, Elize jumping as high as she could to reach him. "Don't scratch him!" Luckily for the young caster, Rowen's grip loosened enough for Elize to finally reach Teepo and pulled him out of harm's stretchy way… coincidentally stretching Teepo's body as fall as it could go in the process.

"Thanks so much, Isla." Jude said the female doctor, who look away from the talking stuffed toy towards him. "It was really kind of you to help us out."

"Yeah, I really appreciate it." Leia added with a bright smile.

"Oh, not at all. That's my job." Isla shook her head at the praise, before taking a good look at the group. "You folks don't look like you're from around here. What brings you to town?"

"We're searching for wyverns." Milla answered as she placed a hand on her hip, "We heard we might be able to find some here."

"Wyverns, huh?" Isla closed her eyes for a few seconds as she seemed to think about something. "In that case, you should head across the river." The woman turned her body and pointed off towards the building in the far corner. "You'll find some big ones in cages over there. Go and see for yourself."

"That's great news! Thank you for everything, Isla." Jude said as he once again thanked the woman.

"Hehe, I'm just glad I could help." The woman replied before she started turning away from the group and started to wave goodbye with a smile, "Well, I've gotta run. Take care of yourselves. Bye now."

Taking a step forward, Leia called out to the woman one last time, who waved one last time without looking back. "Goodbye Isla, and thanks again!"

 _'… Something is off about that woman,'_ Naruto thought to himself as he watched the woman disappear into the crowd, narrowing his eyes a bit before turning back to look at his companions as they regrouped. _'I'm almost positive I sense negativity in her… though it's not overwhelming her, almost as if it's directed at herself… Maybe I should check with Verius as soon as I have the chance.'_

"Okay, everyone. Now that we have a destination, let's go look at those wyverns." Jude said to the others, who nodded their heads in agreement before they started walking again.

 **(Skit – Knowing When to Help)**

 **Jude: You sure are knowledgeable about mana and the connection between Humans and Spirits. Does that mean you know how to deal with medical issues involving mana as well?**

 **Naruto (Shrugging his shoulders): Though it can be a pain sometimes, being the Great Spirit of Mana does have its perks. But to answer your question, yes, I am well adapted to healing.**

 **Jude: That's incredible! After watching you take care of Milla so easily, and then healing the cut on Rowen's head in an instant. I can't even imagine what else you aren't capable of.**

 **Teepo (His body swaying): After what you did for them, just imagine what amazing stuff you could do for people.**

 **Naruto (Closing his eyes before shaking his head): No, just because I can do things like that doesn't mean I should.**

 **Elize (Tilting her head in confusion): What do you mean? Isn't being able to heal people a good thing?**

 **Naruto (Scratches the back of his head): *Sigh* What's the best way to explain this… Oh, I got one. Okay Elize, imagine two people learning how to use a fire Spirit Arte.**

 **Elize (Nods her head with a puzzled look): Alright…?**

 **Naruto: Now the first person listens to what an instructor tells him before he works day in and out to master the Spirit Arte, figuring out the best way to use it and the consequences of misusing it through trial and error. Only going to the instructor if he really needed advice. The second person, however, relies completely on another instructor and basically has their hand held the entire time. Several weeks later, another instructor has the two students placed in separate rooms to perform the Spirit Artes on two different targets.**

 **Rowan (Lets out a hum): Ahhh~ I see what you are driving at. I am guessing that the two students' results were completely different.**

 **Naruto (Nodding his head): That's right. The first student managed to strike down his target on the first try, while the other student failed to even make contact with the minor Spirits.**

 **Both Elize and Teepo are surprised at Naruto's response.**

 **Elize: But why? I thought they were both learning from the instructors.**

 **Naruto (One eye closed as he crossed his arms): Yes, but the second student relied too much on the instructor for help and often used the teacher as a secondary focus to conjure the flames.**

 **Jude (Eyes widening as he figured it out): And because of that, he wasn't able to do it on his own.**

 **Naruto (Smirking with a hand pointing his thumb at his forehead): Exactly. Now here's a pop quiz for you all. Who was the one at fault? The student who refused to train on his own or the instructor who held his hand the whole time?**

 **Leia (A puzzled look on her face): I would say it was the student's, right? He should've actually tried to learn the arte instead of rely completely on the instructor for help. If I had done that with my mom, she would've tripled my training for being lazy and left me outside for a few days to fend for myself.**

 **Rowen (Brushing his beard with his fingers): Yes, well… I suppose that is one way to look at it. But I think what Lord Naruto is trying to say is that it was the instructor who was at fault.**

 **Elize (Getting an uneasy expression while looking down): Really? But all the instructor did was help.**

 **Naruto (Shaking his head with a grim smile): Maybe, but it was because he coddled the student that made the student fail. It is alright to help people from time to time, but if I were to cure every disease and issue in the world than Humans wouldn't be able to grow and figure things out for themselves.**

 **Jude (A small smile on his face): That is true. Just learning things from textbooks and lectures isn't enough, it is through research and hard work that Humans have found solutions to so many problems.**

 **Rowen (With a smirk): You truly are a wise Spirit.**

 **Naruto (Letting out a laugh): Not really, if anything I've just learned a lot in the years I've been around. Something that I'm sure you know full well!**

 **Rowen (Laughing at that): Very true! I suppose old geezers like us still have a lot to offer.**

 **Naruto (A twitch mark showing on his head): Who're you callin' an old geezer?!**

 **Jude, Elize, Teepo and Leia laugh as Rowen backs away a little**

 **Jude (Looking amused): I guess Naruto's sensitive about his age.**

Maneuvering around the crowds and merchants, the group reached the bridge and were about to cross when Naruto came to a halt and turned his head to look at the lower levels. Raising an eyebrow, he let out a hum. "Is that…?"

"Hey Naruto, are you okay?" Jude asked as he and Elize stopped just behind Naruto, the medical student's words catching Milla, Rowen and Leia's attentions as they looked back at Naruto.

"Hmm, oh, yeah… Hey listen, I'll catch up with you guys in a bit. I just need to take care of something." Naruto said as he turned around and started walking away from the group. "See you guys at the wyvern cages."

Putting her hands on her hips, Leia puffed her cheeks angrily as she watched Naruto walk away. "First Alvin, and now Naruto. What is it with the guys in our group playing the lone wolfs."

"I don't think Naruto is trying to go solo, Leia." Jude said with a sweatdrop at the girl's words, "Unlike Alvin, Naruto doesn't seem like the kind of guy to do that."

"True, I am sure he will catch up with us soon enough." Rowen added as he turned his head to look at Milla, who placed a hand on her hip as she walked Naruto make a turn and started walking down the step. "Shall we get going then?"

"… Yes, Naruto knows where we are going. He'll catch us quickly." Milla answered as she started walking across the bridge. "Besides, the sooner we find the wyverns, the sooner we can figure out a way to take them for ourselves and head to Fennmont."

"Wait… That kinda sounds like stealing Milla!" Leia called out as she ran to catch up with the older female in the group, Rowen letting out a chuckle as he started walking himself.

Jude let out a chuckle as he moved to start walking himself but stopped when he noticed that Elize and Teepo were not following and turned to see that the two were looking in the direction that Naruto had went. "Are you alright, Elize?"

"Umm," Elize turned her head to face Jude with a look of concern.

"Elly is kinda worried about Naruto. Not to mention we wanted to look around the city a little more," Teepo answered for the girl as her body swayed a bit.

"I'm sorry." Elize said as she clasped her hands together in front of her waist, "I know we should be focusing on the wyverns, but…"

"Don't worry, I understand." Jude replied as he glanced back to see Milla and the others were still walking to the other side of the bridge before looking at Elize, "I'm sure Naruto wouldn't mind if we joined him."

"Huh?" The small sorceress was surprised at Jude while Teepo's mouth opened wide.

"Milla and the others will be fine without us for a few minutes, and to be honest I'm kind interested in the city too." Jude said with a small smile which made Elize and Teepo smile back at him, "Okay, let's go." With that said, they made their way towards the steps and walked down the path until they made it to a corner and heard a female voice speak up.

"It's been a long time, Lord Naruto." The voice said, making Jude and Elize look at each other briefly before they silently leaned their heads out to see Naruto standing in front of a woman, who was bowing deeply towards the blonde. The woman had black hair that was tied into a bun and was wearing a brown and red outfit that seemed to fit a much chillier clime than what Xian Du had, and when the woman raised her head to reveal she was wearing glasses and had red eyes.

"It sure has," Naruto said with a warm smile as he walked forward and patted the girl's head. "You have certain grown since I last saw you, I almost didn't recognize you."

"Well, I was still a child back then… But please stop it," Karla replied with an embarrassed blush as she reached up and pushed Naruto's hand off. "I am an adult now, patting me on the head is too awkward at my age."

"Hahaha, you may be older. But honestly you are still a child compared to me," Naruto stated as he let out a laugh.

Composing herself, Karla clasped her hands in front of her as she gave Naruto a curious look, "If you don't mind me asking, but why are you in Xian Du, Lord Naruto?"

"Let's just say that a mixed group of people came to me and asked for my help on something." Naruto crossed his own arms as he looked down at the floor, "I took a look at the world and realized that I can't stay on the sidelines with everything that is going on."

"They came to you for help?" The woman replied as she had a look of surprise on her face, "Then that means they actually passed Verius' trial, I'm surprised."

Naruto let out a chuckle as he uncrossed his arms, "It isn't too surprising, is it? I mean, your brother was also proven worthy to see me and request my help."

"I suppose you are right about that," The woman said with a smile as she reached up and pushed up her glasses, letting out a giggle. "I never thought I'd see my brother bow to anyone, let alone going on his hands and knees to beg you for help."

"It was a shock, I'll admit. I honestly thought that your brother was going to try and force me to help." Naruto placed a hand on his hip, "I remember how I couldn't help but think about how much he reminded me of another warrior who did everything he could to help the people close to him… I guess that is what motivated me to help you with your disease."

"I honestly didn't think that anything could treat my incurable disease until I met you, you save my life." The woman said as she brought a hand to her chest, "Not to mention all you did for him as well… You have done so much for us and we could never thank you enough."

 _'An incurable disease_? _'_ Jude thought to himself with a raised eyebrow.

"… Karla," Naruto started as a serious look appeared on his face. "Even though you haven't seen me, I have been keeping an eye on the both of you."

"So… you know about the person he has become…"

"And what happened to your relationship." Naruto added making Karla closed her eyes at his words, "You and Erston had been so close, and now…"

Karla shook her head, stopping Naruto as he waited to speak. "Erston did what he had to. For the good of our country, he became more than just a soldier… and I actually felt bitter towards him for it."

"There is still plenty of time," The Great Spirit of Mana said as he placed a hand on her shoulder. "Take it from me Karla, feeling bitter and all of the negativity doesn't make things better for you. All it does is leave you feeling empty inside."

"… I understand what you are saying, and believe me when I say that those feelings have dwindled during the years… But even so, it is better that I stay away for now." Karla said with conviction in her voice, "I am a teacher and a historian, which means I have to help educate the future generations that my brother is trying to protect."

"I suppose that is enough for now, but don't think I'll let this go." Naruto said as he moved a step back, "With everything that is happening on this journey my group and I are on, we will probably be crossing paths pretty soon. Hopefully it won't be as enemies."

"I certainly hope not as well. Though it would be an entertaining duel," Karla replied with an amused smile.

"Maybe, but I'd rather not fight him if I had the choice… He is someone that I believe can lead this world to change for the better," Naruto smiled back as he scratched the back of his head. "But then again, change can come from anywhere, even teachers like you."

"I appreciate your words," Karla bowed her head toward the Great Spirit once again. "I really do have hope for the younger generations to live better lives then what my brother and I had."

Turning his head slightly to the side, Elize and Jude were surprised to see Naruto looking straight at them with a knowing smirk. "I have to agree with you there Karla. Now I know you probably need to head back to your class, but how about I introduce you to some of the people I am traveling with. It's not polite to eavesdrop, you three."

Knowing that they were caught, Jude and his smaller companions walk out from behind the corner and made their way up to the two. Jude was scratching his cheek as he got close, "Sorry Naruto. Elize and I were worried about you and wanted to make sure you were alright… and I guess we got caught up in the conversation."

"I did say I wouldn't be long, right?" Naruto questioned with a raised eyebrow as he looked at the three before shaking his head, "Whatever. It is Karla here you should be apologizing to since it was stuff about her past."

"I-I'm so sorry Miss." Elize said as she bowed her head.

Adjusting her glasses slightly before speaking, Karla had a stern look on her face similar to when a teacher is disciplining their students. "It is alright, but you shouldn't do it in the future or else you could get in deeper trouble."

"Yes ma'am." Both Elize and Teepo said at the same time.

"Hmm, you look to be around the same age as my students." Karla commented before she stared down at the girl with a smile, lifting her head a bit to look at all three of them "It is nice to meet friends of Lord Naruto. My name is Karla, Karla Outway. Just like you, I am also someone that had passed Verius' trial and was granted permission to meet Lord Naruto."

"Really?" Jude asked in surprise as he looked at Naruto, who nodded his head.

"Technically it was Karla and her brother, but yeah." Naruto motioned a hand towards Karla before continuing, "She was actually sick with an incurable disease involving her mana lobe and her heart, but I took care of it."

"Wow, so there are other people that you've helped." Elize said in awe until she noticed Karla was looking at her with a raised eyebrow and shyly hid behind Jude.

A small smile grew on Karla's face as she saw this before looking up to have everyone in her sights, "So who are you three?"

"Jude Mathis." The black-haired teen introduced himself with a nod.

Teepo was next as he floated close to the woman, "The names Teepo, that's with two e's and one p. Be sure to remember that!"

"I'll be sure to do that… And how about you?" Karla asked as she once again focused her gaze on the shy Elize, "You look to be around the same age as my students."

"I'm Elize. It's nice to meet you." Elize finally said before focusing on what the woman said. "You're a teacher?"

"Yup, and Karla is also a historian so if you need any help with Au Joule's history, she's your girl if I'm not around." Naruto said with a grin as he patted the woman's shoulder, "Then again, she was always a bookworm as a child… I remember her eyes practically shining when she saw my personal library back in my dimension."

"Lord Naruto, please." Karla said with a small speck of red on her cheeks.

"Wait, you have a personal library?" Jude questioned as he tried to recall coming across such a thing when they had spent the night in Naruto's dimension.

"There wasn't much time for you to see it," Naruto replied before looking back at Karla. "I'm sorry for taking so much of your time, you need to meet up with your class, right?"

"Oh, that's right." A look of realization appeared on Karla's face before she bowed once again, "It was great seeing you again, Lord Naruto. Maybe we will be able to catch up some more when we get the chance in the upcoming future."

"I am looking forward to it." The male blonde smiled and nodded his head as he watched the glasses-wearing woman turn her attention toward Jude, Elize and Teepo.

Smiling at the three, Karla nodded her head in their direction. "It was nice meeting you as well."

"Yeah, hopefully we'll meet again." Jude replied.

"I do hope so… Elize, how old are you?" Karla asked the little girl, who was standing a little more confidently next to Jude.

"Twelve."

"Twelve, huh… Then how about this, a small pop quiz for you." Karla offered with a comforting smile.

Tilting her head slightly at the proposal, Elize blink once in confusion. "A quiz… alright."

"Good. Do you see that large building up there?" Karla asked as she pointed upwards to the object hovering over their head with the pillars holding it in place, "That is actually an arena known as the coliseum of Xian Du, where all of the tribes come to compete. Do you know who has the record of being the youngest champion ever?"

"The youngest champion ever? Um…" Elize looked down from the coliseum towards the ground with a puzzled expression.

"Who gives a quiz before teaching a lesson? She can answer it if she doesn't kno-" Jude was cut off as Naruto motioned for him to look at the statue resting behind Karla, silently telling him to pass the hint onto Elize. "Hey Elize, look!"

Follow his gaze, Elize looked up at the statue and the plaque under it, before answering Karla's question. "Master Heming!"

"Correct," Karla nodded with a smile. "Good job."

"Wha-ha! I'm the quiz master!" Teepo shouted gleefully, not noticing Jude and Naruto shaking their heads at the stuffed toy's words.

"… Oh, I'm afraid I can't waste any more time here. If you would excuse me." Karla said to the four before walking passed Elize and Jude and headed up the stairs.

Watching Karla disappear from his sight, Naruto waited a few moments before turning his head towards the others. "Why don't we start heading towards the wyvern cages? I'm sure the others must be wondering what's taking us so long." With that said, Elize, Jude and Teepo nodded their heads before following the Great Spirit, all of them wondering if Milla and the others had managed to find the cages already.

 **NMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMM**

 _And with the end of the Third Chapter, the group has reached Xian Du and looking for the wyverns. Jude and Elize have just discovered that there have neem others that have passed Verius' Trial of the Heart and met the mysterious woman named Karla, who seems to be someone from Naruto's past. Now they are heading towards the wyvern caged in hopes that the tribe that owns them would let the group ride them to Fennmont. What will happen next? You'll just have to read and find out. Like always with all my works be sure to leave some nice reviews, but remember that all flames and insults will be IGNORED, so don't bother writing them. I hope you enjoyed reading and I hope to see you again._

 ** _A/N 2:_** _The next story that I am currently working on is **Red Threads of Fate** and then I will work on my **Fairy Flame Dragon** story._

 ** _A/N 3:_** _Lately I've been wanting to see what it would look if one of my stories was written with that Reading/Watching Genre that been getting very popular lately. I don't know who would be interested in doing it with one of mine, but I really hope someone could give it a try._

 _Until Next Time!_


	4. Champions of the Kitarl Clan

**_Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto or any of the 'Tales of' series, the ones who do are Masashi Kishimoto and_** **_Namco Tales Studio. I also don't own any other anime, its characters, or abilities that might appear in this story except for any OC's that will appear. And so, without delay… Sit back, relax and enjoy the story._**

People Talking – "I will complete my mission!"

People Thinking – _''Ludger is good, but Elle is the best! Elle Yeah!'_

Spirits Talking – **"This is my resolve as a Great Spirit"**

Spirits Thinking – **_'I'll never go back on my word.'_**

Skits – "All Hail Emperor Rollo"

Chapter 4 – Champions of the Kitarl Clan

"I liked Karla. She was really nice." Elize said with a smile as she and Teepo were walking across the large bridge in the middle of the two sides of Xian Du with Jude and Naruto a few steps behind them.

"Yeah, though her method of teaching was different." Jude spoke up while scratching his cheek with one of his fingers, thinking about how the woman had asked Elize a question on a specific part of Xian Du's history after just meeting the girl. "We were just lucky that the statue was there."

Letting out a laugh while placing his hands behind his head, a small grin formed on Naruto's face. "Don't worry about it. Karla has always been the enthusiastic type when it comes to teaching and history. You should've seen her eyes when she saw all of the books in my library when I gave her permission to reach a few of them."

"Really? It's too bad I couldn't have seen this library myself." Jude replied with a small smile, a little interested in Naruto's library after hearing about it and curious on what kind of books the Great Spirit of Mana would keep in his collection.

"Maybe I'll let you see it later," Naruto offered as he looked over at the black-haired student, lowering his arms with the grin still on his face. "Though it probably won't be until after everything is settled."

"That's fine, this isn't really the time anyways." Jude said with a nod as the small group made it to the other side of the bridge, all of them coming to a stop in front of the large statue that was in the wall with a set of stairs on each side. "From what Isla saying, the wyverns should be to the stairs on the left, right?"

"Mm-hmm, that's right." Taking a quick glance to the stairs on the right, Naruto spun his body to face the stairs on the left with a hand on his hip. "I can sense Milla and the others on the higher floors, which means there should be an elevator somewhere… Is something wrong, Elize?"

Turning her head from looking up at the large statue to look at Jude and Naruto, the young girl shook her head. "Oh, it's nothing. I just noticed that so many of the statues have beards."

"Elly's right, and so many of them are poufy instead of pointy like Rowen's!" Teepo called out from Elize's arms, his words making Naruto laugh as he turned to them.

"You get used to that, there are many cultures that actually believe that beards are a symbol of power, wisdom, and even social standing. Centuries ago, there was even once a royal family that believed that having a beard was the sign of an ideal king." Naruto explained to the young girl and her tiny friend, who looked at the Great Spirit in awe.

"Really?!"

"That's crazy!"

Scratching his cheek with an awkward chuckle, "Just don't let Rowen hear that or he'll try to encourage you, me and Alvin to grow beards ourselves."

"Nah, I don't really look good with a beard. Though Aska didn't leave me alone until I got rid of it, kept getting on my case about how it got in the way of my whiskers." Naruto dismissed with a wave of his hand, "Besides, it becomes uncomfortable really quick if you aren't used to it."

"… Wait, are you saying you can actually grow a beard even though you're a Great Spirit." Jude questioned as he snapped his head to look at Naruto with a surprised look. Despite Naruto having a humanoid form, he didn't think that the blonde Great Spirit was affected by such things.

Motioning the two to follow him, Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "Not in the sense or duration that it would take Humans, but being a Great Spirit means that just like the other Great Spirits, I am able to change my physical form to change into whatever I desire." Raising a hand to his head as he, Elize and Jude walked up the stairs, the two Humans, and one Teepo, watched as Naruto's hair suddenly changed to a pure-black color with the color of his eyes turning red, before once again changing as the color shifted to a vibrant red with short smooth hair and his eyes turning amethyst, and then returning to his original blonde spiky look. "See? All Great Spirits are able to do it, we just choose not to because our default forms are always the easiest and most comfortable for us, though our genders are usually the same even if we don't look it."

"That's amazing!" Elize said as the three made it to the elevator, Naruto pressing the button to bring it to the first floor. "So how many times have you changed your looks?"

"Hmmm, to be honest… I lost count, though I never really stay in another form for too long unless the situation calls for it." Naruto answered as the elevator doors opened and the group entered the small space before the doors shut behind them, the four already feeling the elevator moving upwards to the next floor. "Made things easier for me to sneak around and blend in with Humans whenever I needed to."

"So that means you can change your appearance to look like anyone? Does that mean you can become a female if you wanted, like how Milla became a female?" Jude questioned as the doors slid open, allowing them to exit onto the third floor. But before Naruto could reply, a female voice was heard shouting not too far away.

"Wait, hold on. You can't possibly be thinking of recruiting these fools!"

Turning their heads to the sound of the voice, Elize, Jude and Naruto could see the rest of their group, except for Alvin, standing in front of the wyvern cages up ahead with three Xian Du residences not too far from them. Quickly glancing at each other, Jude and Naruto nodded their heads before walking closer to the group with Elize just behind them.

"Hey guys, it looks like you managed to find the wyverns." Naruto called out, making everyone's heads turn to look at him and the two Humans with him.

"Naruto! Jude! Elize! Where did you guys go?" Leia replied with a surprised look as she watched the three walking up to them, "I understand Naruto said he was doing something, but you two just disappeared."

"Sorry about that, Elize and I decided to stick with Naruto." Jude answered as he noticed the looks they were getting from the three, meanwhile one of the wyverns was bowing submissively towards the female Maxwell. "… I'm guessing Milla wasn't subtle about borrowing the wyverns."

The tanned man in front of the other two members of his clan, wearing a red and white tribal outfit with white/khaki pants, looked over at the new arrivals with his arms crossed. "Are you three with them and desire to borrow our wyvern?"

"That's right, we need to travel somewhere and the only way to do it is by wyvern… You guys are of the clan members that are masters of the Beastcraft, right?" Naruto replied as he stared at the supposed leader of the trio, who nodded his head at the question.

"I'm Yurgen of the Kitarl Clan." Yurgen introduced himself as he looked at all six of them, "You outsiders have arrived in Xian Du at a crucial time for us. I'm sure you've noticed the crowds in the city. Once every decade, Xian Du's clans hold a martial-arts tournament. That tournament is tomorrow." Continuing his explanation, the man turned his head to the coliseum of Xian Du. "Our chief is the clan's only fighter, but unfortunately, he is currently too busy with his duties in the king's service. We're on the verge of having to forfeit the tournament."

Placing a hand on his hip, Naruto had a serious look on his face. "Such a thing would bring a lot of dishonor to a proud and ancient clan like yours, which means you lot must be getting desperate."

"Exactly. But I sense a special power within all of you. Would you all be willing to represent the Kitarl Clan as our champions?" Yurgen asked as he stared at the group with a hopeful look.

"Heck yeah! Where do I sign up?!"

Jude and Milla turned their heads to look at the female brunette of the group who had her hand in the air, the black-haired teen crossing his arm with a sigh. "Leia, he was talking to all of us."

"Ah, ha-ha…" Leia let out an awkward laugh as she lowered to the back of her head.

"If we enter the tournament on your behalf, will you let us borrow these wyverns?" Milla questioned as she glanced quickly at the wyvern that was still bowing its head at her before focusing her attention on the Kitarl clan members.

"That's the bargain." Yurgen nodded his head before crossing his arms, "But you must do more than enter. You must win. I'll need to see a demonstration of your abilities beforehand as well."

"Goes without saying, but you can be sure that we'll exceed your expectations." Naruto commented with a smirk as he glanced back at Milla and a grinning Leia, "It sounds like the best deal available, don'tcha think?"

Leia once again pumped an arm into the air with excitement on her face, "Awesome! I always wanted to be in a real martial-arts tournament. I'm stocked!"

Jude on the other hand had an unsure look on his face as he turned to look back at Yurgen, "You're sure it's okay for outsiders like us to participate in the clans' tournament?"

"That's not a problem." This answer came from the man standing behind Yurgen, "Some clans have been known to recruit skill warriors from the outside to boost their prestige."

"Huh. I always figured you folks were big sticklers for traditions." A familiar voice spoke up behind Yurgen and his clansmen making all of them turn their attentions to see Alvin walking up to them while shaking his head. "I'm gone for ten minutes and you guys get us neck deep in a full-blown tournament? I can't take you people anywhere, can I?"

"Where've you been, little buddy?! We were nearly squished!" Teepo shouted while hovering over Elize's shoulder.

A cool-guy smile formed on Alvin's face as he waved a hand, "Sorry about that, spud. I had a feeling that you all were in trouble though, so I came running."

"You're a little late though," Leia replied while placing her hands on her hips.

"Well, the important thing is that I'm here now, right?"

Upon hearing Alvin's words, Yurgen turned his head to look at Jude. "He a friend of yours too?"

"Yeah, but don't worry, he's the last of us." Naruto said while Alvin crossed his arms with a small grin, and the Great Spirit tilted his head to motion to the coliseum in the short distance. "So, this test of yours… I take it you want us to go to the aerial arena over there?"

"That's right, we will be waiting for you." With that said, Yurgen and his clansmen spun around and began to walk away from the group before entering the elevator, leaving the seven, plus Teepo, by themselves in front of the wyvern cages.

Looking back at the group with his usual smile, Alvin pointed his thumb back towards the elevator. "What do you guys say, shall we get going?" Everyone nodded their heads at the brunette mercenary's words as they took one last glance at the wyverns before heading off, Milla silently exchanging glances with Alvin as she walked passed him. It didn't take them long to reach the ground level as they made their way towards the bridge, taking notice to all the passive monsters all around them. "I still can't believe that they seriously keep monsters as pets. Auj Oule sure is weird."

Nodding his head at Alvin's words as a small smile forms on his face, Jude spoke up with a laugh. "I'd rather have a cute pet, like a dog or something."

"Oh, so you're a dog person? I am too." Rowen said with a smile as he brought a hand up to his beard.

"Same here!" Leia smiled in agreement as she thought about the neighbors' pet dogs that she and Jude used to play with when they were kids. "They're way more fun to be around."

"Oh, come on. Cat beats dog any day." Alvin retorted while shaking his head with a small smirk, "You dog types are just emotionally needy."

"Nowadays, it's the cat owners who are the needy ones." Rowen counters as a frown forms on his face, "You put on fake cat ears and cat tails, saying "meow" after every other word. It's absolutely ridiculous."

"Ummm, Rowen? I don't think normal people actually do that." Naruto said with a sweatdrop, though this grew as the memory of when he, Sakura and Sasuke were hired to collect the pawprint of Nekomata, the ruler of the ninja cat underworld, and needed to wear cat ear to deceive the other cats into thinking that they were cats themselves… a small smirk grew on Naruto's face as he recalls the look on Sasuke's face when the Uchiha was handed the embarrassing accessory. _'That was for a mission, so I guess that doesn't count.'_

"Got that right. True cat lovers admire cats for their independence." Alvin stated before turning to face the youngest member of the group, "What about you, Elize? I bet you're a cat person."

Shyly interlocking her fingers together, Elize was a small smile on her face as she spoke. "To be honest, I always wanted to have a pink rappig."

"B-But I thought you were a Teepo person!" Teepo cried out in shock with his mouth wide open.

"What's your favorite kind of animal, Milla? Naruto?" Jude asked as the group started to walk across the bridge, turning the attention to the Great Spirit and former Spirit.

"Me? You should know my favorite animal by now," Milla said with a small smile as she glances back at the others. "It's you humans, of course."

Crossing his arms with a puzzled expression, the Great Spirit of Mana let out a hum. "To be honest, I don't really have just one favorite animal, so that's a tough one. Although, I can tell you my least favorite animal."

"Really, what's that?" Elize asked while tilting her head with curiosity.

"Snakes." Naruto answered quickly while closing his eyes.

"Really? Interesting," Rowen commented as the group made it to the East side of the bridge before turning right to where the boat was located. "Any particular reason?"

"… Let's just say that I've had a few bad run-ins with snakes or beings that are snake-like." Naruto replied while discreetly clenching one of his hands into a fist. "Anyway, I think we should head off to meet Yurgen at the arena before they get impatient."

 **(Outside the Coliseum)**

Upon taking the boat that would take them to the battle arena, the group was silent most of the way as the rower took them all the way to the inside docks of the coliseum. Luck for them, Yurgen was waiting for them in front of the steps leading to the battle arena a little further in, and greeted the group with his clansmen standing behind him. Upon seeing the group, Yurgen uncrossed his arms and looked at everyone in the group before nodding his head.

"If you all are ready, let's see what you're made of. We're going to have you fight some of our clan's monsters. Take care. This is strictly practice, but accidents do happen. And don't hold back either." With his explanation done, the dark-skinned man spun around while beckoning the group to follow him, leading them passed the guards to the arena ahead.

Leia was the first to react to seeing the inside of the coliseum, her jaw dropping in awe at the view of the size of it and the stands above them. "Ooooh~! Now this is what I call an arena!"

"Maybe you're a little too into this, Leia." Jude spoke up as he walked closer to the girl, the other members of the group doing their own looking around while Milla and Naruto glanced at each other briefly before turning to where Alvin was standing next to the edge of the arena where a large drop area was seen.

"Oh, come on." Leia replied as she slouched her shoulders for a few seconds before staring at Leia with a look of determination and excitement on her face. "Aren't you ready to rumble?!"

"I'm not sure I'd put it exactly like that." Waving off Leia's words as a look of concern appears on his face, Jude did a short glance at the mid-section of Leia's body. "Your old wounds aren't acting up, are they?"

"Huh? Oh, no." Leia blinked in surprise at Jude's question before shaking her head as a smile formed on her face. "It's fine, Jude. Now that we're doing this, it's going to have to heal whether it likes it or not."

"Not a bad arena, almost like ones that I've been in, in the past." Naruto's comment making Milla turn to him with a raised eyebrow. "I'll have to focus on using only one of my Truth-Seeking Orbs.

"I take it you've fought in places like this before?" Milla asked with a hand on her hip. "Pretty risky when going against Humans with your power."

Naruto chuckled while mirroring Milla's action with a grin, "So says the "Lord of Spirits" herself."

"True." Milla smiled back at the truth behind Naruto's words. Their attention quickly shifted to Yurgen walking up the group, the two of them not being the only ones as everyone else turned to face him as well.

"Time to start the test. Are you sure you're ready?"

"Yes, go ahead." Milla replied while taking a step forward.

Nodding his head, Yurgen pointed to the stand. "We'll be watching the battle from up there while you face the monsters."

As the male Kitarl said this, four Terra Goblins emerged from the other side of the arena and stood ready as the group spun around to face the monsters. As the others pulled out their weapons, Naruto secretly summoning only one of his Truth-Seeking Orbs and having it turn into a Bō in his hand before spinning it a few times while resting it at his side. The battle didn't take them long to finish as Rowen and Elize formed a link and quickly took care of the first Terra Goblin with the Linked Arte known as **Gravity Well** to crush it within seconds and allowed Alvin to slice the monster apart with his sword. Leia and Milla used their own Linked Arte to take down the next two Terra Goblins with a combination of melee blows before ending it with a spinning vortex of fire called **Flare Tornado** , incinerating the two monsters before the Arte finished.

The final Terra Goblin was facing Jude and Naruto as the latter connected a Link to the black-haired Human as they charged at the monster, slamming their fists and Bō into its head causing the beast to flip into the air. Channeling his Mana into the point of his Bō, wind spiral around Naruto as he and Jude were back to back before the male blonde called out to his linked partner. "Jude!"

"Right!" Nodding his head while channeling his own Mana into his fist, Jude mirrored Naruto as the two reared their Mana-covered weapons back before throwing them forward.

 **"Spiral Tempest!"** The wind and Mana channeling around Jude and Naruto's weapons erupted in a powerful twist that shot into the air and struck the airborne Terra Goblin, dealing several powerful wind blades slash its body before it exploded. Glancing back at each other, the smirking Great Spirit and Human tapped the back of their fists against one another.

"Good job syncing up." Naruto said as he dismissed his Truth-Seeking Orb.

"Heh, thanks." Jude replied as he placed his gauntlets away. They weren't the only ones putting their weapons away as everyone did the same seeing as the battle was finished. Turning around to face the exit, the group was greeted by Yurgen and his clansmen rushing into the arena.

"I was afraid that we might have to jump in and rescue you guys, but clearly that wasn't necessary." Yurgen admitted while crossing his arms over his chest.

"Of course not! We're unbeatable!" Teepo happily cheered with a large smile.

Blinking his eyes while nodding his head, Yurgen uncrossed his arms before speaking. "My apologies. I guess I underestimated you."

That riled Teepo up as he angrily floated close to Yurgen's face, "Just me?!"

"Hahaha… Pretty sure everybody would underestimate you, spud." Alvin said with a shake of his head, though this made Elize quickly spun around to frown at the mercenary.

"Hey, don't make fun of my friend." Elize shook her tiny fists in a cute manner that made several adults laugh at how the young girl was chastising Alvin, who turned away while scratched the back of his head awkwardly.

"Heh heh. Sorry."'

Through the laughter, Yurgen continued to speak with a serious look on his face. "Tomorrow's tournament will be even more challenging. They used to be fought to the death. It was the only way to determine the ruling clan."

"Whoa…" Leia said in shock at the fact.

Naruto let out a chuckle as he got closer to Leia and patted the girl on the shoulder with a reassuring smile, "Don't worry, they haven't used the old practice in a long time. Ever since the new King of Auj Oule took the throne and outlawed them."

"Really? Well that's good." Leia replied with a relieved smile.

Yurgen tilted his head as he looks over at Naruto, "I take it you've been here before to know such a thing."

"You could say that. I know someone who was a former resident from Xian Du and currently lives in Kanbalar. I learned all about the tournament from him." Naruto explained while crossing his arms.

"Then you are well informed," Yurgen replied as he shifted his gaze to look at everyone. "Anyway, the real test will be tomorrow. I've gotten you rooms at the inn. Make sure to get a full night's rest."

 **(Skit – Chakra Lesson Part 2)**

 **Jude (An impressed look on his face):** **I'm shocked how easily you can Link up with everyone without using an Lilium Orb, Naruto.**

 **Rowen (Brushing fingers through his beard):** **Indeed. It's shocking that how easily Linking is for you, but then again, you are the Great Spirit of Mana.**

 **Naruto (Smirking as he crossed his arms):** **Ha-ha, it not that shocking. I've been doing it for years, ever since Mana used to be Chakra. Believe it or no, back when Humans still had Chakra, there were certain techniques called Collaboration Ninjutsu that allowed two or more people to synchronize their Chakra together that could do a lot of damage. In fact, there were some people that could think their chakras with other people, which was the case with one person with a very large amount of Chakra that was able to transfer it to an entire army and linking to almost 80,000 people.**

 **Leia (A shocked look on her face with her jaw dropped):** **An army of 80,000?! No way, you're messing with us!**

 **Naruto (Laughing as he looked up at the sky):** **Nope! Totally serious. But that all started to change when Chakra was replaced by Mana and they had to find innovative ways to get stronger in a fight. As you know, Dr. Howe created the method for Humans and Spirits to work together through Channeling, and later the Lilium Orbs appeared. But what most Humans nowadays don't know is that there was actually another way for Great Spirits to connect to Humans through a method that is somewhat like a combination of Channeling and Linking.**

 **Alvin (A thoughtful look appeared on his face):** **Wait a minute… I think I remember you and Milla talking about something like that earlier. What was it again?**

 **Rowen (Hands behind his back as he closed his eyes briefly):** **If I remember correctly, I think you called it Direct Tethering.**

 **Naruto (Halfheartedly lifting a hand with his index finger pointing out):** **That's right, though Direct Tethering is a bit different from Linking with someone or doing a Channeling. Not to mention it is a lot different in my case because I'm the Great Spirit of Mana.**

 **Leia (Raising an eyebrow):** **I don't understand, in what way is it different?**

 **Jude (In his thinking pose):** **I'm guessing it has to do with the fact that normally, through Channeling, the Human gives their Mana to the Spirit in order to cast an Arte. In Naruto's case, due to his large amount of Mana and connection to the World Tree, it is in reverse where he gives them Mana.**

 **No one noticing as a small bit of red appeared on Milla's cheeks as she heard the conversation continue, looking away awkwardly with one eye partially open. Meanwhile Elize and Teepo where innocently off to the side, listening intently to what was being said.**

 **Verius (Appearing with Shadow and Aska):** **You're correct about that Jude. It helps us Great Spirits as well whenever we need a temporary Mana source.**

 **Shadow (Eyes closed as he nodded his head):** **It's been helpful to us and those Humans he has Direct-Tethered in the past.**

 **Milla (A startled look on her blushing face):** **What!? You've Direct-Tethered with Humans in the past?!**

 **Naruto (An awkward look on his face as he looked away):** **Uh, yeah. Though it was only with two people.**

 **Aska (Letting out a pleasant sigh):** **It's always such a wonderful sensation! I never have to worry about running empty because he fills me up so much.**

 **Alvin (Amused as he smirks at Naruto):** **Whoa, you certainly put on the charm. Any of those people you Direct-Tethered with being a pretty lady?**

 **Naruto (Crossing his arms with a blush):** **I don't see how that's any of your business.**

 **Milla (Cheeks puffed out a little as she moves off screen):** **I see… So that's the kind of man you are.**

 **Naruto (Tilting head to the side):** **Wha- Milla? Where are you going?**

 **Jude (A surprised look on his face):** **Wow, I don't think I've ever seen Milla act like that. I can't tell if she was mad or embarrassed.**

 **Alvin (The smirk still on his face):** **It's certainly entertaining to see Miss Lord of Spirits act so Human. But this Direct-Tethering thing must be quite the important thing to affect her so much.**

 **Verius (Nodding his head):** **Quite… I just hope you can clear things up with her, Lord Naruto.**

 **Naruto (Raised eyebrow):** **… Did I do something wrong?**

 **Rowen (Smirking while bringing a hand to his beard):** **I suppose even the Great Spirit of Mana must deal with the issues of dealing with a maiden's emotions.**

 **Naruto:** **…?**

 **Leia (Crossing her arms while looking up):** **I don't get it. What's so bad about Naruto Direct-Tethering with someone?**

 **Elize (Moving closer to the group with Teepo):** **This seems like something I once saw back in Hamil.**

 **Alvin (Blinking in surprise):** **Is that so?**

 **Teepo (Curling his body a bit):** **Yeah, I remember that too. One of the ladies that lived in the village was acting like Milla just now, except she was a lot scarier and yelling at her husband about something.**

 **Jude (Letting out an awkward chuckle):** **I think that is a conversation best forgotten Elize. Though I am still wanted to learn more about Chakra and Mana.**

 **Naruto (Smirking while placing hands on hips)** **: Then I guess you'll have to wait till next week.**

 **Jude and Leia (Both shocked): NEXT WEEK AGAIN?!**

It didn't take the group long to reach the docks where the boats were located before taking one of the larger ones back to the East side of Xian Du. The ride being a little quieter as they all waited to reach dry land, Naruto glancing over at Milla, who glanced back at him before they both looked away at the same time with awkward looks. Although the other members of the group knew that the two powerful Spirits, former in Milla's case, had their conversation, and manage to resolve whatever tension there had been. Most of them were assuming that whatever issue there was with Direct-Tethering must be a Great Spirit thing, especially since none of them really knew what the big deal was exactly since Milla tried to avoid the subject while Naruto just replied that he would tell them later. As the group continued to walk up the stairs leading to the main road where the bridge and the crossroad were located, they took notice to even more decorations spread across Xian Du and more people walking around to celebrate the tournament festivities.

"The people here sure get excited about these tournaments." Jude noted with a frown as a couple happily walked passed the group towards the boat they had just gotten off.

"Do you not like competitive sports?" Rowen asked while looking over at Jude with a raised eyebrow.

Shaking his head, Jude scratched the back of his head. "It's not like I have anything against them exactly, I just don't get the appeal. I guess that isn't very manly of me, huh?"

"I don't consider that to be a bad thing." Milla spoke up while Elize and Teepo nodded their heads in agreement, "It definitely defines who you are. The world is far more interesting when people are different from one another instead of being the same."

"Milla's right about that." Naruto added as he raised both arms behind his head, "In fact, it is the people that choose to go for the more peaceful methods rather than battles, and have the alternative views on situations that make the biggest changes in history."

"Thanks, that makes me feel a little better about it." Jude replied with a grateful smile before shaking his head, "But hey, don't get me wrong. The cultural perspective of the tournaments still catches my attention. I mean, don't they have some major significance in the history of Auj Oule?"

Shifting his attention away from the conversation between the three, Naruto match his pace with Alvin, Elize and Leia, who were at the front and talking about the warriors that the statues were carved after. But Naruto's attention wasn't on that discussion either as he subtly glanced towards the West side of Xian Du, where a few men could be seen staring at their group. Thanks to the empathic ability he had acquire long ago after syncing up with Kurama during the Fourth Shinobi World War, Naruto had learned to do it himself thanks to Verius, and from what he could sense from the small group of men, they must've been the Exodus members that pushed the boulders on them earlier. It wasn't just the Exodus members that caught Naruto's attention, but also a mild trace of negativity coming from the right side of the West wall around the second or third level.

 _'Interesting… If I am right, I think that's around the area where Alvin's mother lives. I will have to get that out of the way as quickly as possible. I did make a promise after all.'_ Naruto thought to himself as he turned his head to the inn that Yurgen had told them to stay at not too far away, before looking up at the sky to see that the sun was already starting to set. Lightly shrugging his shoulders, Naruto and the others made their way inside of the building and made it to the front desk. _'Huh, I didn't even realize it had gotten so late, it's a good thing Yurgen took care of our lodgings.'_

Taking the keys from the front desk clerk, Rowen turned himself around to look at the group. "Now everyone, I suggest that we get something to eat quickly before retire early so that we will be ready for our tournament matches."

"I don't see any issues with your proposition, Rowen." Milla replied as she placed a hand on her hip with a small smile on face, others in the group nodding their heads in agreement. "Doing so will give us plenty of time in the morning to prepare ourselves."

"Well, well… If I didn't know any better, I would say you seem excited to be in the tournament." Alvin commented with a small smirk, shrugging his shoulders while shaking his head.

"Is that so? Maybe your right." Tilting her head slightly as she looked over at the brunette mercenary, Milla turned her head to look forward again. "This is the first time I have taken part in something like this, it's a fascinating Human event. Not to mention that once we win the tournament, we will have access to the wyverns and be able to continue our journey."

Letting out a low chuckle, Leia kept her eyes on Milla while moving her hands behind her back. "You really like to focus on your mission, huh, Milla?"

"That's not necessarily a bad thing. It's good to have a positive view of how things are going to turn out." Jude spoke up as he scratched the side of his cheek, knowing from that limiting yourself and being a pessimist would only create more problems than solutions. "Although I am not really into the fighting, the sooner we finish this tournament the sooner we can get to Fennmont."

"Enough about what we are going to do after we win the tournament, we still need to make sure our attention is on our future opponents. We don't know what variables they will have, not to mention they probably have more advantage in fighting in that kind of arena." Naruto pointed out causing everyone to go silent since they all knew that Naruto was right about that… though the silence was interrupted as a growling sound was heard, making them all turn their heads to look at Elize, whose face was red with embarrassment.

"I'm sorry…"

"Heh, don't worry about it." Alvin said with a grin as he waved his hand in front of his face.

"We haven't eaten anything since we got here, it's to be expected that you would be hungry. You're a growing girl, after all." Walking up to the little girl, Naruto placed a hand on her shoulder and flashed her a smile, "How about we head to the dining area? I'll check to see if they will let me use their kitchen."

Nodding her head while smiling back at Naruto, Elize brought her hands up cutely to her face, "Alri-" Elize didn't get to finish her reply as two more growling sound could be heard, making heads turn to look at their sources.

"…"

"…"

"…"

"…"

Turning his head to look at the person next to him after a few seconds, Jude placed a hand on his hip. "I'm guessing Elize isn't the only one that's hungry."

"Oh, shut up. Like Naruto said, it's normal for a growing girl to be hungry after all we went through without food." A lightly-blushing Leia turned her head away from looking at Jude as she crossed her arms over her chest. "Besides, even you can't deny how good Naruto's cooking is. You agree with me, right, Milla?"

"I'll admit that his meals are a lot more delicious than the what the inns have made and other meals that I have had in the past." Milla admitted as she crossed her arms as she recalled the places where she had eaten at after this journey had begun. Thanks to both Sylph and Undine, Milla never had the need to drink, eat or sleep at all, but after getting a taste of it, Milla certainly enjoyed herself. "So, what will you be making today?"

"Dunno… I'll probably go simple and cook up some shrimp over rice." Naruto let out a hum as he crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes, walking towards the dining area with the other's following after him. "Let's see, maybe I'll chop up some garlic cloves and mix it with some lemon juice and onions for a sauce. Yeah, and I'll add in some spice as well to give it a light kick before cooking the shrimp in it. I should put in some vegetables to balance it out… no, I'll keep it on the side."

"… If that's what he calls simple, I can't imagine what he calls complicated." A bewildered Alvin said with a shake of his head before turning his heads to look at the Milla and the others younger members of the group, noticing the hungry looks on their faces. "I guess some people can't help themselves, huh, Rowen?"

"Indeed… though it would be improper to decline." Rowen's voice said back only for a very low growl to be heard making Alvin turn his head to see the butler looking away from the group.

Shaking his head in amusement with a shrug of his shoulders, Alvin couldn't help but let out a chuckle. "Heh, I see how it is. I guess I can eat too." Watching as the other's followed Naruto to the dining area to get their final meal of the day, the brunette mercenary couldn't deny that he was looking forward to Naruto's cooking as well. Thankfully the inn allowed Naruto to use the kitchen to cook for the group, filling up their stomachs before they went to bed in their reserved room.

 **NMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMN**

The night soon came to an end as morning came, everyone managed to wake up and take care of their morning rituals before making their way down the stairs. Upon reaching the bottom floor, the group was met by Yurgen and his clansmen, who were conversing about something before noticing that the group was standing behind them.

Yurgen was the first one to greet them with a smile, "You all look bright-eyed and ready to fight. Good." After waiting a few seconds for everyone to get closer to him, Yurgen continued to speak. "Today's schedule for the tournament is packed thanks to the number of participants this year. The tournament organizers decided that it would be best to cram all the fights in one day."

"One day, huh? Sounds rough." Jude commented with a slightly surprised look.

"We'll find out how many fights there'll be once today's matchups are announced." The male Kitarl member behind Yurgen clarified as he crossed his arms, knowing that such details are crucial when fighting in a tournament.

"When you hear the bell tolling, come to the arena at once. That heralds the start of the tournament." Yurgen explained while waving his hand lightly in front of him, "We'll be waiting at the arena." With that said, Yurgen and the other Kitarl members made their way out of the inn, leaving the group to themselves.

"I guess we have some time to kill." Alvin pointed out while leaning against the stairway posts at the bottom floor, making the others turn to look at him. "What should we do?"

Milla was the first one to speak, taking a quick glance with the Great Spirit in the group before anyone noticed. "Naruto and I were going to the plaza. Something's been bothering the two of us."

 _'This is the first I'm hearing about it. But I guess there is no harm in going with her,'_ Naruto thought to himself as he crossed his arms. _'Besides, this might be a good chance to find out what that negativity from yesterday was.'_

 ** _'I still think you're too nice with her, Lord Naruto.'_** Aska's voice spoke up with clear annoyance in his voice.

"Oh. I'll come with you two!" Leia said as she brought her hands up and swayed a little side to side, her words making Milla and Naruto look towards her. "I'll get too antsy if I just stand around here until the tournament."

Seeing Milla nod her head towards Leia, Alvin closed his eyes briefly before opening them. "Hmm, maybe I'll tag along, too."

"Sure, why not." Naruto replied with a grin as he placed a hand on his hip, "Just don't go wondering off on us if you get bored being around us."

"With you and Milla in a group, boring is the last word to come to mind." Alvin countered with a smirk.

"What should I do?" Jude wondered to himself as he crossed his arms over his chest and closed his eyes to think about his options.

"Hey Jude, let's go sightseeing!" Teepo called out making the black-haired teen turn to look at the plush-toy and Elize.

"I want to look around the city too." Elize added as she held Teepo in her arms.

"Oh yeah, you did say this place seems familiar." Jude recalled making Teepo nod his head in Elize's arms, meanwhile Naruto glanced over at the two with a raised eyebrow.

"I shall escort Miss Elize." Rowen spoke up as he walked up behind Elize, making the three look over at him. "Will you accompany us?"

"Sure, why not." Jude answered with a smile.

"… If you guys want, Verius can go with you guys as well." Naruto said as he took a few steps closer to the three, four if you count Teepo. Noticing the looks of confusion that he was getting, Naruto decided to clarify. "Since Verius is the Great Spirit of Heart, that means that he can also tap into the memories that are etched into a person's heart, remember? It is a long shot with how young Elize is, but maybe you'll figure something out."

"As much as that sounds like a promising idea, won't Lord Verius attract attention due to his status as a Great Spirit and majestic appearance." Rowen pointed out as he thought about Naruto's suggestion, knowing that such a power would be helpful to Elize.

 **"Thank you for the compliment. But you need not worry about me, Rowen."** Verius's voice was heard making everyone's heads look around for signs of the Great Spirit of Heart, only for their attention to shift to Naruto as a large bulge formed under the flap of his coat and started to move upwards. The group was surprised to see a much smaller, three-tailed chibi version of Verius pop out from under Naruto's coat before making its way to his shoulder. **"As you can see, I have a much smaller form that allows me to blend in without being detected."**

Shaking his head with a small smile, Jude placed a hand on his hip. "If you look like that, I don't see why not." Getting a nod from Naruto, Verius leaped from his shoulder and seemed to soar through the air before landing softly on the medical student's head before moving down to his shoulder.

"Don't forget. Race to the arena when you hear the bell." Alvin spoke up loud enough for everyone to hear as the two groups made their way to the exits. Jude and his group went left towards the bridge while Milla and her group went the opposite direction towards the entrance where the boulder almost crushed them.

"They were quick on getting rid of all the rubble, huh, Naruto?" Leia spoke up as she looked around to see most of the rubble that had fallen from the cliffs was already gone before turning her attention to a large cracked spot. "Hey, isn't that the spot where you destroyed that boulder?"

"Yeah, I guess it left an impression on the road." Naruto chuckled as he brought his hands behind his head, "It's been so long that I almost forgot how powerful the **Rasengan** truly is."

" **Rasengan**? Was that the name of that attack? Jude said it looked like a glowing ball of Mana." Leia questioned as she tried to recall most of what happened, though getting pushed out of the way and hit by some rubble didn't give her much to go on.

"That's what it looks like from a distant viewpoint, but it's actually a combination of Mana that takes rotation and power, and then compresses it into an easy-handled form using shape manipulation…" Noticing the confused look on Leia's face, Naruto let out a sigh at how much Leia reminded him of himself when he was young. "I channel my Mana and turn it into multiple tornadoes at once before shaping it into a ball that hits someone with those tornadoes all at once."

"Ooooh!" Leia let out as she understood Naruto's second attempt at explaining the **Rasengan** , before his words finally hit home. "Wait… That little thing has the power of multiple tornadoes?!"

As this conversation was going on, Alvin turn his attention to look at Milla, who was looking away from the debris and focusing on the other side of the river. "You didn't come here to examine the debris?"

"It's unimportant." Milla quickly answered as her gaze swept over the other side of Xian Du before noticing Leia was waving towards something off to the side, or rather, someone.

"Isla!"

Turning their heads, Milla and Naruto caught sight of the woman from yesterday as she was walking towards them with a small smile on her face. "You seem to have healed nicely."

"Yup, thanks to you!" Leia said cheerfully as she made her way up to the woman, meanwhile Naruto came to a stop next to Milla as she placed a hand on her hip. The smile on Isla face disappeared as she turned her head slightly and caught sight of Alvin, staring at him with a blank expression for a few seconds.

Naruto's eyes narrowed as he could sense the negative emotions that he picked up from Isla were actually stronger than yesterday. _'There is that feeling again, I guess Alvin has something to do with it… Or maybe its Exodus…'_

Looking back and forth between Alvin and Isla as the both of them stared hard at each other silently for almost a minute, Leia tilted her head a bit with curiosity. "You know Alvin?"

"Uh, no." Isla answered after a moment of hesitation causing Milla to mirror Naruto in narrowing her eyes in suspicion.

"It's fine, Doctor Isla." Alvin spoke up making the three turn their heads to look at the mercenary as he walked closer to the group. "The good doctor here is actually taking care of my mother."

"Is that right?" Crossing her arms at this news, Milla recalled the discussion that Naruto had with Alvin about healing his mother, she just didn't think that it would be happening so quickly. "Is she here in town?"

"Oh, so that's why you have so much local knowledge." Leia said as she pointed at Alvin,

Rubbing the back of his head, Alvin averted his gaze towards the ground. "Her health's not so good. My father's gone, and I don't have any siblings, so the doctor keeps an eye on her when I'm away."

"You just told us more about yourself in one minute than you have since we met." Milla pointed out only for Alvin to look away.

"If you say so. I just… I just want to make her better." Alvin replied as he looked up at the sky, "Originally it was so I can take her back home, but now I just want her to get well again, even if we never get back there."

"Where is that? Is it far away?" Leia asked with a look of concern on her face.

Alvin only looked up at the sky with a solemn look, "Farther than you can imagine."

"Well, if there's anything we can do to help, don't hesitate to ask." Milla said surprising Alvin as he looks at her with a shocked expression before letting out a chuckle as he shrugged his shoulders.

"Sure, yeah, if I think of anything. Though I suppose Naruto here is doing more than enough since he agreed to take a look at her." Crossing his arms, Alvin turned his attention over to Naruto, who nodded his head slightly.

"Really, that's great! If Naruto is going to help her, I just know your mom will get better." Leia smiled brightly as she turned her head to look over at Naruto, who had a small grin of his face.

"I'll certainly do my best."

Isla had a look of surprise on her face as her gaze went back and forth between Alvin and Naruto, "I don't understand. Your mother's condition isn't something that can be healed that quickly."

"Normally you would be right, but you see, this guy here is one of the best healers I've ever seen." Alvin replied as he pointed his thumb at Naruto, "It's not like it'll hurt anybody if he examines her, right?"

"… um, no… I suppose not…" Naruto narrowed his eyes as he sensed the negativity surrounding Isla grow even more as fear was added into the mix, but before anything could be said, Isla turned her head towards the path and the negative emotions suddenly lightened up immensely. "Yurgen? Shouldn't you be at the arena?"

Following the woman's gaze, the four turned their heads to see Yurgen walking over to them with Isla making her way to meet him half-way. "I had to run an errand." The man shifted his gaze slightly to see Naruto and the others standing off to the side, "I didn't know you were friends of Isla."

"Yep!" Leia responded with a smile as she walked up to Milla's side, "We didn't know you two were friends, either."

Glancing at each other briefly, a small grin forms of Yurgen's face as he spoke. "We're more than just friends. Isla's my fiancé."

"Fiancé?" Milla repeated.

"Wow, congratulations!" Leia said to the couple as she rested her hands behind he back.

Yurgen let out a chuckle at that, "Ha-ha, thank you."

"I guess that explains how she knew about the wyverns, huh?" Naruto asked with a grin before noticing the confused look on Milla's face, dismissing Yurgen saying something to Isla. "What's the matter? Don't tell me you don't know what marriage is?"

"Oh, so the word fiancé has to do with marriage! I know what that is." Milla said with a smile as she turned to face Isla and Yurgen. "May you breed like rats and produce many children that survive childbirth!"

The female Maxwell's words caught her companions by surprise as they looked at her with dumbfounded looks before Naruto facepalmed himself before letting out a small groan. _'I know I said that she should try and find her own way of conversing with people, but that was just too blunt even for me.'_

"Uuuuuhhh?" Leia's body slumped over as she processed Milla's words.

Alvin, however, could help but snicker in his hand. "Heh heh."

Before anyone could say anything else, the sound of a bell tolled loudly throughout Xian Du, making everyone look towards the arena. Yurgen crossed his arms over his chest as he spoke, "The tournament is starting."

"I'm sorry. I'd come watch, but I have to work today." Isla said as she looked over at her fiancé, an apologetic expression on her face as noticed the disappointed look on his face.

"That's too bad." Yurgen placed a hand on Isla's shoulders with a reassuring smile, "Pray for our victory."

 **(A Few Minutes Later)**

It didn't take the group and Yurgen long to reach the boat that took them to the coliseum, where the other members of their group were already waiting for them to show up. Yurgen immediately started conversing with his fellow tribesmen about what they had found out about the tournament, while everyone else was getting ready for their first match. Leia had a grin on her face as she walked up to Jude.

"Hey Jude, guess what?" Leia pointed her finger over to Yurgen, who turned after noticing this action. "Yurgen and Isla know each other. They're actually engaged!"

A smile formed on Jude's face as he turned to face Yurgen, "You're kidding! When's the big day?"

"Ha-ha, come on, stop it you two." Yurgen replied with a laugh, "It's not for a while."

"And get this; Isla is taking care of Alvin's mom." Leia continued as she made a quick glance at Alvin, who was leaning against a pillar with his arms crossed. "It really is a small world."

"Wait, what's wrong with Alvin's mom?" Jude question with a worried tone as he looked over at Alvin.

"No need to worry about her, busybody." Alvin retorted as he lifted his head up to meet Jude's gaze.

After a few seconds, Leia leaned closer to Jude and whispered on last thing. "Apparently, Alvin asked Naruto to see if he could help her."

"I see…" Jude replied in a very low voice, though this was mostly to himself as he looked over at the blonde Great Spirit in time to see both he and Milla were standing in front of Elize.

"How about you, Elize? Were you able to remember anything?" Milla asked as she looked down at the younger girl, who had a sad expression on her face as she held a surprisingly silent Teepo close to her chest.

Seeing the disappointment in Elize's eyes, Naruto turned his head over to Verius, who was still in his chibi form, as the Great Spirit of Heart jumped onto his shoulder. **"Unfortunately, we were not able to get as much as we wanted. Luckily, it seems that she remembered something about her parents, though even that was not much… it is almost as if she subconsciously created a mental barrier over her heart that is blocking out everything that happened to her before arriving at some laboratory."**

"Laboratory?" Naruto questioned with narrow eyes as he turned to look down at Elize. If there really was some sort of barrier around the young girl's heart, then it would be best to not rush into finding out everything at once. One of the first things Verius had told him when describing his powers was that if a person created a mental barrier over their heart, forcefully attempting to remove it could result in permanent damage to that person both emotionally and spiritually.

"Yeah, we didn't learn much about it before the bell started ringing." Jude explained as he made his way up to the three, "Apparently it was where she met Teepo, according to them, the people there gave Teepo to her shortly after arriving."

"I see." Milla said as she took on a thinking pose.

"We'll have to learn more about this a little more later. For now, Verius, you should vanish before the fighting starts. Thank you for your help." Naruto nodded his head firmly as he spoke to one of his loyal companions.

 **"Of course, I am happy to lend any assistance I can. Good luck with your matches everyone."** With that said, Verius glowed lightly before vanishing quietly leaving the Great Spirit with the Humans as they notice some groups were heading up the stairs.

"Playtime's over." Yurgen spoke up, catching everyone's attention as they turned to look at him. "We're just about to get started. Head to the reception desk when you're ready."

"We're expecting big things from you." The female Kitarl member said as she crossed her arms.

"Knock'em dead!" The male Kitarl cheered as he pumped his fist.

Nodding their heads in agreement, the group of seven headed over to the reception desk and talked to the woman, who then gave them their instructions to go up the stairs and prepare for their match to start. With Milla and Naruto a few steps ahead of everyone, the group made their way to their entrance to the arena, luckily, they didn't have to wait long as the previous matches ended quickly and their turn to fight had arrived.

 **"And now our next combatants; the champions of the Kitarl Clan!"** The announcer spoke up as the door leading to the arena opened, allowing everyone to see both the arena and the large crowd watching from above.

"Look at all the people." Jude said in both shock and awe as he subconsciously took a step back.

"You won't be at you best if you're nervous." Milla said as she faced Jude, placing a hand on her hip as she spoke. "Just relax and you'll do fine."

"R-Right." Jude replied as he watched Milla start to walk towards the arena before following her.

Chuckling a little as he moved a little closer to her, Naruto turned towards her with a grin and a hand resting on his chin. "I guess you do know how to say comforting things from time to time."

"Saying it like that makes it sound like I don't know how to converse at all." Milla replied with a deadpanned expression.

"Take it however you want." Naruto countered as he looked away with an amused look as he placed his hands behind his head, ignoring the blank stare Milla was sending his way as the group made it to the center of the arena.

 **"They're the only combatants who won't be controlling monsters with Beastcraft."** The announcer continued as the crowd had mix reactions to the news. **"Their skills are a complete mystery… This'll either be a short fight, or an interesting one!"**

"Um, did he just say "monsters"?" Leia questioned with a slightly worried tone.

 **"Here come their opponents!"** As the announcer's words rang out through the arena, several crab-like monsters along with an armored warrior.

Everyone in the group grew serious expressions as they pulled out their weapons, Naruto once again transforming one of his Truth-Seeking Orbs into Bō. Shifting into his fighting stance, Jude took in a deep breath before exhaling with only one thing left to say. "Let's do this!"

 **(A Little While Later)**

While the matches had been long and well-fought, Milla and her team had defeated opponent after opponent until they reached the final match and emerged victorious. It was obvious to everyone who was the new fan favorites in the tournament as the crowd cheered loudly for the group, who were exhausted from the continuous fighting. Upon exiting the arena and making their way down the stairs, a happy Yurgen and the female Kitarl clan member with him greeted the group before motioning to the dining area where everyone was having lunch before continuing with the tournament.

Sitting at the end of the table as he looks on at everyone else who was situated and waiting for their meals to arrive, Yurgen rose up from his seat with a large smile on his face. "We've made it to the finals. Honestly, I didn't thing you would make it this far."

Leia pouted at that as she crossed her arms, "Why? We told you we'd win."

"Haha, point taken." Yurgen replied with a laugh as he returned to his seat as a waitress came to their table and placed more food in front of Milla and Naruto. "Anyway, please help yourselves. You're going to need to have all the energy you can get to win the finals."

"Huh?"

"Hmmm?"

Milla perked her head up as a strange scent reached her nose. Looking down at the food with a raised eyebrow, the humanoid Lord of Spirits noticed one of the members from the Kitarl clan rushed into the room to take to talk to Yurgen about the incident yesterday,

Mirroring this action as he looked down at his bowl of food, Naruto leaned in a little closer as he sniffed the smell coming the steaming meal... his eyes widening with an alarmed expression before he and Milla shot up to their feet.

"Don't touch the food!" Both Spirits shouted at the same time making everyone else at the table freeze as they looked at the two in shock, Alvin holding the spoonful of food inches away from his face.

"What? Why?" Elize's answer came quickly as clattering could be heard throughout the room making everyone look around the room to see various people collapsing onto the floor, groaning and in pain.

"What? What's happening?" The male Kitarl asked as he and the others looked around in shock.

Naruto looked around the room with narrow eyes while Jude and Rowen knelt next to one of the collapsed contenders, the old butler lightly sniffing the air as he recognized the scent. "That faint odor in the air, I know what this is. There's no doubt that this is Metecinia, a poison that dissolves in liquid."

"So, you're saying that they've all been poisoned?" Jude questioned while gritting his teeth as looked around at the victims, knowing full well how lethal Metecinia was due to its strong potency and how quickly it spreads throughout the body. "Why would anyone do something like this?"

Glancing to the side, Milla noticed that Alvin was now glaring at the untouched meal in front of him.

"Do our opponents want to win the tournament that badly?" Yurgen said as he looked down at the nearest victim.

"Shut up! How do we know it wasn't you guys who did this?"

"He's right, its oddly suspicious that none of you guys

"No, it wasn't any of us." Milla commented loud enough for others to hear her, causing the rowdiness of the room to die down. "There's only one group I know of that would use such cowardly means."

"In any case, we can't just let these people die. Leave everything to me!" Naruto called out causing everyone in the room to snap their heads in his direction to see that the blond Great Spirit had brought both hands together to form a cross with his index and middle fingers while the other fingers were curled up. " **Shadow Clone Jutsu!** " What happened next shocked everyone as two large puffs of smoke appeared on either side of Naruto, before quickly dispersing to reveal that Naruto was no longer by himself, but instead had eight identical copies of him.

"W-What the hell?!" One of the Kitarl clan members shouted as he took a step back from the sight of nine Narutos standing a few feet away.

"My word, I've never seen anything like this before." Rowen spoke up from his spot next to Jude, whose eyes widened in disbelief.

"Whoa~!" Both Elize and Teepo said at the same time.

Milla raised an eyebrow as she crossed her arms over her chest, "… Fascinating…"

"That's not something you see every day." Alvin commented with his jaw dropped.

"Okay. We don't have a lot of time, so we need to act fast" Dismissing the looks he was getting from all the Humans in the room, and whatever Teepo was, Naruto focused his attention on his clones. "You all know what to do, help them get to get all of the poisoned victims together and take it from there." Nodding their heads at their creator's orders, the different Naruto's went to work with some of them clearing the tables while others were moving the bodies, removing their upper clothing while leaving the women's bras alone. The Great Spirit of Mana wasn't finished giving orders as he looked over at the Humans, "Jude and Leia, I need you two to help monitor their heartbeats while we get everything ready and with your medical experience it should be easy. Everyone else, I need you guys to get some things for me and get some of the inn staff as well."

"And why should we listen to you?" One of the other members of the tournament questioned with a suspicious look on their face, one that quickly faltered when the original Naruto turned to face him with a hardened expression.

"Because I am the one who will be saving the lives of your comrades and the others that were poisoned. So, unless you want their deaths to be on your conscience by you arguing with me, I suggest you **shut the hell up and do what I say! Is that a good enough reason for you?** "

The poor guy couldn't have nodded his head fast enough.

After he finished giving out, everyone hurried out of the room to retrieve what Naruto had requested them to find, leaving him, his clones and Jude and Leia alone with the emergency patients. Looking up from the person he was examining, Jude had an unsure look on his face while turning towards Naruto. "I don't understand, you should be able to heal them easily without any of the stuff that you asked for, right? It's is difficult to focus on extracting the poison now that is in liquid form, not to mention dangerous."

"Jude?" Leia blinked in confusion as she looked up from her own patient to see her childhood friend staring at a blank-faced Naruto as the blonde was prying open a female victim's eyelid and glancing at a victim's eye.

"… I can't use that power I used on Milla and Rowen on multiple people at once, since that technique is limited on one person at a time and if I were to do so on more people there is a limit how much I would be able to heal." Naruto replied as he moved his hand away from the woman's eye, "Luckily, there is one way I know how to take care of that can draw out the poison. Though from what I remember, this method can be a bit crude. So, don't worry, Jude, and trust me when I say that everyone will be okay. One thing to always remember when being a healer is that sometimes we need to make decisions that might not seem right, but we cannot falter once we make them."

"… That sounds like something my dad would say."

"…"

"…"

It didn't take long for everyone else to return, most of them holding large pans filled with water while others had clean towels. Elize and Teepo soon entered the room with Milla not to far behind, the two girls carrying the medical supplies from the bag that Jude's father had given them. After directing everyone to place three filled pans near each poisoned victim, Naruto took the medical supplies from Elize and Milla and sorted them out on a small table nearby before grabbing a small pack of recovery fluid.

"Will that be enough?" Elize asked with a worried look on her face.

"There's no way this stuff will work for everyone!" Teepo added with his mouth wide open.

"Yeah, it might be small, but I should be able to work with this." Naruto replied before letting out a frustrated sigh, "I kind of wish Undine was here to help with this, she was always good at this sort of thing."

That made Milla raise an eyebrow at that while placing a hand on her hip, "What do you mean "this sort of thing"?"

"You'll see… Alright, you guys get into position." Naruto ordered to his clones as he ripped open the pack and used his Mana to control the liquid and keep it near his hand as he divided it up into several smaller balls, before moving them over to the water-filled pans. Many were surprised to see that as soon as Naruto let the balls fall into each pan, the water began to glow and spin around for almost a minute, mixing together in a dim glow before it came to a halt.

Taking a glance into the pan, Jude blinked in surprise. "You managed to turn the water into more medical fluid?! How is that possible?"

"Trust me, that was nothing. Undine could do that in seconds," Moving over to one of the patients, Naruto sent eight of his Truth-Seeking Orbs to the other clones as followed their original's lead and mirrored him as they grabbed the orb next to them and turned them into small knives before making two incisions near the torso of each patient. Since the Truth-Seeking Orbs where created from pure energy itself, they were the perfect thing to use that would not infect the area or cause unnecessary damage to the poisoned Humans. Dismissing the Truth-Seeking Orbs, each Naruto placed a hand on the medical fluid in one of the pans near them and channeled his Mana into his hand to lift the fluid out of the pan. "This next thing is going to be painful for them, so I am going to need all of you to hold each of them down until I finish and don't let them move at all."

Getting nods from all the occupants in the room, each of them grabbed hold onto a limb as they watched each Naruto lean closer to the patients and brought the medical fluid to one of the incisions and gently pressed against it. Milla looked across from her to see Naruto taking a deep breath before narrowing his eyes, putting more pressure in his hand and pushed all the medical fluid into the body at once causing every one of the patients to let out pain-filled shouted as their bodies started to thrash from the sudden action. The others tried to hold strong onto their grips to pin down the thrashing patients, which was easier for some than others.

"I know it's difficult to watch, but you need to hold them down with everything you've got!" One of the Naruto's stated loud enough for everyone to hear, making them not their heads as they did their best to keep the victims from moving around too much. Narrowing his eye some more as he poured more of his Mana into the liquid inside of his patient, feeling the medical fluid as it started to purge and draw out the poison while at the same time repair some of the damage done. _'… I knew you and Grandma Tsunade were really amazing when it came down to it to Medical Ninjutsu… Even after all these years, I'm still not even close to your level.'_

After a few seconds, a few of the Narutos were moving to the next stage of the extraction and moved their other hand to the second incision, channeling Mana into that hand to grab hold of the medical fluid inside the body before pulling it out. The others watched in awe as the rest of the Naruto's finished this action before completely removing the fluid from the body, revealing a strange, dark substance floating in the center of the ball of liquid.

"S-So is that it? The poison inside of them?" Elize asked as she and Teepo were the only ones not holding someone down and were standing a few feet behind Naruto.

"Incredible, you were actually able to separate and remove it while in liquid form." Rowen said in awe while others look on in silence, no one more so than Alvin, who was at a loss for words at the sight.

"Yeah, but we aren't finished yet." Naruto replied as he placed the tainted medical fluid back into its original pan before moving onto the next one, repeating his earlier actions as he lifted it into the air. "Since we don't know how much poison was in the food, we are going to do this again a few more times just to be safe. Everyone get ready."

Nodding their heads in understanding, everyone repositioned themselves as each of the Naruto's brought the fresh medical fluid towards the incision once again.

 **NMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMN**

"That was amazing work Lord Naruto," Rowen said with a small smile as he looked over at the Great Spirit of Mana, who was sitting and relaxing on one of the beds in their room with Elize sitting next to him while the others were standing around. The only one that wasn't in the room was Alvin, who rushed out of the room in the middle of Naruto extracting the rest of the poison. "Thanks to you, it looks like there is a strong possibility of all those people making a full recovery."

"Yeah, though I seriously doubt they'll be doing any physical labor for the next few weeks." Naruto replied as he let out a sigh as he crossed his arms, "Exodus sure has made of mess of things."

"Exodus? What's that?" Jude asked as he noticed Milla and Naruto sharing a glance.

"It's an organization that's been trying to assassinate me for some time now." Milla explained making the others look at her with surprise.

"Wait," Instantly thinking back to what they just experienced, Jude's eyes widened as he realized what Milla was driving at. "So, you're saying that poison in the food was…"

"Milla was the intended target, we were just lucky that none of us ate any of the food and I was able to save those people." Naruto finished as Elize turned to face the Great Spirit next to her with a wide-eyed Teepo in her arms.

"Goodness. To think they would actually attempt to murder a room full of people just to kill you." Rowen stated as he brought a hand up to his beard, stroking it gently as he thought about what would've happened to those that were poisoned.

"Exodus has never been subtle with their methods," A frown formed on Milla's face as she said this. "But this act was especially heinous."

"That's terrible! Why are they after you?" Leia nearly shouted as she looked at Milla in a worried manner.

At first Milla didn't answer Leia's question as she spun around to face away from the group, crossing her arms as she took in a deep breath. "It's because I've been destroying their Spyrixes ever since Exodus appear with them 20 years ago."

"That's quite some time ago."

Jude was shocked by this revelation, "Wait… so since the Lance of Kresnik at Fennmont uses Spyrix, does that mean Exodus is involved?"

Milla nodded at the medical student's question, crossing her arms as she thought back to the huge mechanical monstrosity that took the Four Great Spirits away from her. "It is a strong possibility, and something that I believe to be the case, the only trouble is that there is no way to prove it. It is not easy to identify a member of Exodus since they were easily able to blend in with the populace. Up till this point, the only way I've been able to identify Exodus members is when any of them used Spyrix. I can sense the spirits dying because of it, and it's the same for you, isn't it?"

Seeing Milla turn her head to look at him, Naruto nodded his head with a solemn look forming on his face as he rose to his feet. "Yeah, it's one of the reasons I allow so many of Lesser Spirits free passage to the World Tree dimension."

"Wait, what?!" That caught the attention of every Human in the room as they looked at the two in shock.

"A Spyrix is a weapon that allows anyone to generate Artes without the use of mana. In exchange for this kind of power, every time a Spyrix is used, spirits die." Milla explained while closing her eyes briefly before opening them once again with a frown.

"As you all know, Humans and Spirits have a reciprocal relationship that allows the two to peacefully coexist. You all borrow the powers of the Spirits to live out your lives, while in return, the Spirits live off the Mana produced by the Humans' Mana Lobes… Well, the ones that don't connect themselves to the World Tree." Naruto started to explain as he walked to Milla's side as he placed a hand on his hip. "While it might seem like a dream come true, the reality of the situation is that the Spyrix completely destroys the delicate balance."

"Spyrix is a dangerous tool for any Human to possess." Milla stated with a firm tone, "As long as Spyrix exists, Humans and Spirits can never truly live in peace."

"I feel like such a fool. This is all news to me." Rowen said while closing his eyes at the shameful thought of not realizing that such weapons existed for two decades, and with such horrible consequences at that.

Milla looked down on the ground, "That is not surprising Rowen, I have been dealing with Exodus and other related matters by myself, while at the same time, doing my best to ensure that such knowledge ever becomes known to the people of Rieke Maxia."

"Milla's been fighting this whole time?" Elize asked as she looked over at Jude, who turned to face the younger girl before nodding his head.

"Yeah, she's been struggling all by herself. For the world. For us."

Jude's words made Naruto silently clench his fist tightly as he kept a blank expression on his face, his mind drifting to someone he knew was responsible for Milla's mission, _'…Damn it…Maxwell.'_

"Until recently, that is." Milla said making the Humans turn back towards her, watching as the woman bowed her head in their direction "Now that I've lost the power of the Four, I've dragged all of you into my struggle. For that, I am sorry."

Before anyone could say anything, the sound of their door could be heard opening making them turn to see Yurgen walking into the room with a serious expression on his face. Closing the door behind him, Yurgen continued walking towards the group until he was a few feet away from him.

"Hey Yurgen, how is everyone?" Leia asked as she was the first one to speak up.

"Thanks to Naruto's amazing abilities, they'll all make full recoveries." Yurgen answered making everyone let out sighs of relief, and the Kitarl man turned his head towards the Great Spirit of Mana. "A lot of them and their clansmen send you their thanks, and are in your debt."

"Tell them not to worry about it," A smiling Naruto said as he waved his hand in a dismissive manner. "Just knowing that they are going to be alright is enough for me."

"I'll be sure to pass along your message… As for the tournament, naturally, the finals have been postponed. I wouldn't expect you all to fight for at least two days, possibly longer." Yurgen's announcement caught a few by surprise.

"You mean they didn't cancel them?!" Jude exclaimed in shock.

"The tournament committee had a heated debate over the issue, especially since this tournament only happens once in a decade." Yurgen informed the group, briefly looking around the room as he noticed one member of their party was missing. "Any sign of Alvin yet?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Chances are he's with his mother right now." Naruto stated with a shrug causing Milla to look at him with slightly narrowed eyes. "I'm sure he'll come back sooner or later."

"I see. Well, please pass along the news when you see him. I'll return once the details are decided." Yurgen bowed his head lightly before turning around and exiting the room, leaving the six alone to continue conversing.

"Don't you guys think we should forfeit the tournament?" Leia asked as she thought about how Exodus had nearly killed innocent bystanders just to target them… it was hard to think of what would've happened if Naruto wasn't with them.

Elize nodded her head as she brought Teepo closer to her chest. "I think so, too."

"You're probably right."

"We're all exhausted." Rowen spoke up as he glanced around the room, "Let's retire for the day and revisit this when all of us are together and have clearer minds."

"Yeah, that sounds like a good idea." Jude agreed as he nodded his head.

Turning his gaze towards Milla as she looked down at the ground in thought with her arms crossed over her chest, Naruto silently commanded Shadow to discreetly change Milla's shadow a bit to make it point a little in his direction. Seeing her silently look at him while the others had started prepping themselves to get some rest, Milla noticed Naruto briefly closing his eyes before tilting his head towards the door.

 ** _'Meet me outside before everyone wakes up tomorrow morning.'_**

Understanding his secret message, Milla gave a short nod before making her way to her bed to make it seem like she was going to sleep. Naruto mirrored this action as he mentally smirked to himself, having an idea about what was going through the female Maxwell's mind and what she was thinking about since he had some thoughts about it as well. He was able to give Alvin a demonstration of his healing abilities, and now it was time that he honored his agreement with the mercenary.

 **(The Next Morning)**

"… So, you know what I plan on heading to, right?" Naruto questioned as he looked behind him to see Milla walking out the doors before coming to a halt while placing a hand on her hip.

"Of course," Milla replied with a serious look on her face. "It's gotten to the point where we can't let him carry on with his own agenda any longer. He said his mother was in town, so does that mean you're going to heal her now?"

"That's the plan. But I need to take a look at her first in order to see what is truly wrong with her." Naruto explained as he placed his hands in his pockets, "So what do you say, wanna come with?"

Milla nodded her head before looking around to see that the crowds down the road wasn't as hectic as it was earlier, "Yes. There are some issues I want to confirm with him as you examine his mother. I take it you know where he is?"

"Of course, I had Verius secretly keep an eye on him once I noticed his reaction to finding out about the poisoned meal. You noticed the look he had too, didn't you?" Naruto pointed out as he started walking towards the bridge leading to the other side of Xian Du with Milla following him. "If there's one thing that is real about anything he's told us, it's that he cares for his mother greatly."

"So, you believe that the reason that Alvin is working for Exodus is because of his mother?" Milla questioned as a large cart being pulled by a monster was heading in their direction, making them shift closer to the stone wall to get out of the way.

"I think that's part of the reason." Scratching the back of his head, Naruto thought back to the information that Verius had told him after glancing into Alvin's heart along with what the mercenary had told them earlier. "There is more to Alvin's backstory than simply working for Exodus. He is more than likely from **_that place_**."

"But that… No, I suppose it isn't that farfetched." Milla replied while bringing a hand up to her chin to make a thinking pose. "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be truth"

"Howe's Egg Principle. Been a while since I heard that one," Naruto commented with a small smile as his gaze shifted towards the water briefly. Now that he thought about it, that was around the time that Celsius had disappeared… There wasn't a day that he didn't think about the Great Spirit of Ice, not to mention the deceased Great Spirit of Lightning and wondered if Celsius had shared Volt unfortunate fate. Shaking his head to clear his thoughts, Naruto turned his head back to look at Milla as she followed him across the bridge, "Did you pick that up from Jude?"

"I suppose he's rubbed off on me." The female Maxwell smiled back as she shook her head at how much she has experienced since meeting Jude and everyone else in their group, including the Great Spirit standing a few feet away from her. Speaking of which, a thought came to mind as she remembered what the blonde male had done a few hours ago. "So, mind explaining what those abilities that you used earlier. I never would have imagined someone, even a Great Spirit, being able to make copies of themselves."

"Believe it or not, what you saw were common back when people used to have Chakra. Though I will admit that they are some of the more advanced Justus that sometimes took an enormous amount of Chakra reserves and require a high-level of control to match." Naruto explained as a peacock-like waddled passed them with its large beaks digging into its feathers. "The clones you saw are called **Shadow Clones** , which are actually one of the special varieties of the **Clone Jutsu** , and one that I personally prefer because of one unique characteristic about it."

"A unique characteristic?" Milla repeated with a raised eyebrow as the two reached the other end of the bridge.

"Not only are they capable of doing everything that I can, anything the **Shadow Clone** experiences is transferred to the user almost immediately after they are dispersed. For example, if I were two create a **Shadow Clone** now and send it back to the inn to converse with Jude or Rowen about something, I will know exactly what was said even though I was with you the whole time." Naruto explained as he turned his head to face Milla, only to sweatdrop a little at the starry-eyed look on her face as she moved closer to him.

"Do you think you could teach me how to use this technique, there must be a counterbalance to using it with Mana instead of Chakra? Such a power could prove very beneficial to my mission, not to mention the other benefits." Milla's request temporarily caught Naruto by surprise.

For a brief second, Milla's image was replaced with a woman who had similar facial features except for black-hair and slightly narrower red eyes. The woman had a cheerful, yet mischievous look about her as her eyes sparkled the same way Milla's was. This image caused Naruto's eyes to widen slightly as the woman's image turned back into Milla's, who now had a puzzled look on her face.

"Is something the matter?" The female Maxwell asked with a bit of concern.

Averting his gaze quickly, Naruto turned his back to the confused Milla and looked at the right path leading to a set of stairs. "Yeah, no problem… It'll have to wait since we have other important matters to take care of first. Come on, I can sense Verius and Alvin in that direction."

"… Alright," After staring silently at Naruto's back for a few seconds, Milla began walking after him until she had caught up to him as the Great Spirit of Mana was halfway up the stairs. The two of them were side by side once they reached the top and were greeted with the sight of Alvin emerging from the elevator.

Shocked and alarmed to see the two there, Alvin frowned as he took a wary step back. "Where'd you two come from?!"

"Is this you and your mother's house?" Milla countered with her own question as she took a quick glance at the elevator behind Alvin before turning her attention back towards the mercenary.

"It's mostly Mom's, actually." Alvin answered as he scratched the back of his head before continuing, "Look, I'm sorry for darting off like that after helping you with those victims. I was just about to head back to the inn now."

"There's no need to hurry. You were worried that Exodus was going to do something to harm your mom, especially since they didn't hesitate to poison you if it meant killing Milla." Naruto said with a cool smile as he briefly closed his eyes, his words surprising Alvin as the brunette stared at the Great Spirit with wide eyes before a glowing appeared between Milla and Naruto and took shape into the familiar form of Verius. "There is not a lot you can hide from us, Alvin, not unless you want to scar your own heart in the process."

"So, you had Verius secretly tail me and find out where I was going, am I right?" Finished his deduction with a shake of his head, Alvin crossed his arms over his chest. "That's cheating. Especially since I already agreed to join you guys if you really can help my mom. I already stated my hatred for Exodus."

"Well, to paraphrase Teepo, you are a big fat liar." Milla replied with a slight change in her tone to poorly sound like purple and pink creature as she said this, before returning to normal as she waved her hand by her head. "There's no telling what you say is the truth and what are things you want us to hear."

"Spud's got that right. Not even roughing me up will guarantee that I'll give you answers that are true." Alvin said with a smirk as he crossed his arms, though the smirk died as a serious expression replaced it. "But if it comes to my mother, then I don't mind being a little honest with you lot. Just as long as you follow through on your end."

"… Then let's get to it," That was all Naruto said as he shrugged his shoulders lightly before he walked passed Alvin towards the elevator, surprising the mercenary.

"Seriously, just like that?" Alvin called out in shock, fully expecting the Great Spirit of Mana to try and get more out of the Human in exchange for helping his mother.

"What? You want me to take care of her, right?" Naruto replied as the elevator door in front of him opened, turning his head to look back at the dumbfounded Alvin with a grin, "Then follow me. I'm pretty sure your mother will want the first thing she'll recognize after so long is her only son."

"Uh, yeah, sure." Shaking his head a few times, Alvin followed Naruto into the elevator as the Great Spirit looked over at Milla, who a second later nodded her head and walked inside as well. The three didn't have to wait long at the elevator brought them to their designated floor, Milla and Naruto following Alvin out of the elevator and up the path until they reached a door and Naruto could sense someone inside. Turning his head back to look at Milla and Naruto while unlocking the door, a softer expression was on Alvin's face as he spoke, "Just be quiet and don't cause trouble when you get inside, my mother's health is stable, but still pretty weak."

Nodding their heads at the same time, Milla was the first one to speak up. "This is your home after all."

"I'll be as gentle as I can while examining her, don't worry." Naruto said with a reassuring tone, to which Alvin nodded his head before letting them inside.

Upon entering the home, both Milla and Naruto took notice to how simple and peaceful it was with the kitchen and dining area on one side while a bed was in another. If Naruto had to estimate the size, it was around the same as his old apartment when he was Human and lived in Konohagakure, except there was no walls to divide the rooms. Focusing his attention back on the bed, Naruto took noticed to the older woman with light caramel hair lying under the covers with only her head sticking out and her eyes closed.

But her eyes slowly opened and caught sight of Naruto and Milla standing behind Alvin, "Well, hello."

"Hello…" Naruto replied with a raised eyebrow as he noticed the dullness of the woman's eyes.

"It's nice to see you, Balan. Slipped out of your house to come play, did you?" The woman said with a hint of amusement in her tired voice, "What a shame that Alfred isn't here to play with you now. Where did that boy go off to?"

"I don't understand, who is Balan?" Milla muttered to Naruto, whose eyes narrowed as he continued to study the woman's face.

Narrowing his eyes as his mind went over what was happening, Naruto glanced quickly at Alvin's back before leaning a little closer to Milla. "It is probably someone from her past… Could this be…?"

"Leticia, Alfred's away at boarding school, remember?" Alvin spoke up as if he was someone else, making Milla turn to look at the back of his head in confusion.

"Oh, yes, that's right." Leticia replied as she blinked her eyes a few times at that as a small smile formed on her face, "That poor boy must be crying his eyes out. He's so shy, and he always gets so lonely."

"Don't worry. He sent a letter saying that he's doing fine," The was that Alvin was talking, it seemed like he had talked to his mother in this manner more than enough times in the past.

"Oh, yes! And that he'll come home for his next break. I promised we'd take a trip on the big boat when he does." The bedridden woman happily closed her eyes as she appeared to be reminiscing about this letter she received. "Ha ha ha… You know what he said in his letter? He said that hoped I wasn't crying! Isn't that funny? He's such a kind, thoughtful boy."

 _'The big boat?'_ Naruto thought to himself before taking a step closer to Alvin and placed a hand on his shoulder, making the brunette turn his head to see Naruto staring at him with a reassuring smile.

Nodding his head, Alvin turned his head back to look at his mother, "Leticia, I've brought a new doctor with me whose says that he might be able to help make you better."

"Really? Is there something wrong with Doctor Isla?" Leticia asked weakly as she turned her head slightly with a concerned look on her face, immediately noticing Naruto as he made his way passed Alvin and got closer to the bed. "Oh, who are you?"

 _'This issue with her memory and weak form… not to mention her light skin tone…'_ Shaking his head with a smile, Naruto knelt on the side of the bed so that he was on the same level at Leticia, "No need to worry about Isla, I just have more experience with your sickness than she does."

"Really? Most of the doctors I've seen don't know what's wrong… I've always been a little weak…" Leticia replied as she looked up at the ceiling.

"I can see that, but it isn't just your health, right? You're starting to have trouble remembering thing, am I right?" Naruto deduced with the comforting smile still on his face even as Alvin and Milla stared at the blonde male's back as he continued to converse with the bedridden woman. Moving one of his hands closer to her until his hand was hovering over her body, channeling Mana into it until it was covered in a bluish-green glow. "Tell me, in those moments that you feel weak, does the nape of your neck start to ache before your fingers tingle?"

"Hmmm… yes, yes it does. After that… it's strange, but sometimes when I feel light-headed, there's are times when I see things much more clearly than I did before." Leticia answered with a surprised look, turning to look back at Naruto, who nodded his head at her words as his hand moved up and down her body a few times before the glowing around his hand faded away. "The previous doctors all said that it was simply my imagination, and that it was because my mind was overcharging itself."

Crossing his arms as he rose to his feet, Naruto let out a small chuckle as he looked down at the woman. "I suppose that is to be expected when it comes to dealing with doctors not experienced with that kind of thing… But the truth of the matter is, the problem lies in your Mana Lobe."

"Did you just say Mana Lobe? I think you're a little off on that Naruto, everyone from Exodus doesn't have Mana Lobes, especially me and my mother." Alvin said, making Milla blink her eyes in surprise at the knowledge, but both we caught off guard when Naruto looked at them with a smirk and waged his finger at them.

"Actually, that isn't true at all. You see, all of you do have Mana Lobes, the problem is that because of your constant reliance on the Spyrix they have undergone atrophy. In other words, because of the continuous non-usage of Mana, your people lost the ability to use it completely even though a small remnant of the organ is still located in the brain." Naruto explained as he looked back down at Leticia, who had a confused look on her face as she listened to what he was saying. "There are, however, cases when someone is still somehow able to channel Mana through what remains of the Mana Lobe, but because of their body not being used to it, it causes a negative reaction in the body."

"So, wait… Are you saying… that the reason my mom is sick is because her body is somehow producing Mana?" Alvin questioned with a look of disbelief on his face, "But that's impossible, other people would've sense it, right?"

"Don't forget, I said that the Mana is being created from an atrophic Mana Lobe, meaning that the Mana itself is corrupted and has a different signature than regular Mana. It's probably because of this corrupted Mana that she's developed Alzheimer's Disease as well, the corrupted Mana tainted parts of her brain." Naruto deduced as he placed a hand on his hip with a smirk, "The good news is that I can treat both problems."

"R-Really?!" Alvin's mouth dropped as he look at Naruto with what looked like desperation.

Milla's reaction was different as she brought a hand up her mouth with a puzzled expression, "But isn't Alzheimer's Disease something that destroys memories, not to mention no actual cure exists."

 **"Very true, but even if the brain forgets, the heart will always hold onto what is important."** Verius' voice called out before the Great Spirit of Heart appeared at the foot of the bed. **"If I combine my powers with Lord Naruto's, then it is possible to return Leticia to her original self, free of disease and completely healthy."**

"So, what are you going to do?" Alvin asked as he glanced down at his mother's bedridden form and noticed she fell asleep, it was probably for the best right now.

"It's very simple actually, I'm going to do something somewhat like what I did with Milla's Mana Lobe, except your mother's new one will be a fully restored Mana Lobe. Whether she chooses to use Mana or not will be up to her." Naruto explained as a serious expression replaced the smile he had, turning his focus onto Alvin. "But there are two things that you need to be aware of, even with the restoration of her memories and a new Mana Lobe, it will take her some time to completely heal both physically and mentally."

"So, I'll need someone to keep an eye on her for a little while longer. No problem… And what's the second thing?" Alvin questioned with a raised eyebrow, only for Naruto to grab on Alvin's jacket before the mercenary could react and pulled him closer to his mother's bed. "What the-?!"

"In order to properly restore her memories, Verius and I will need access to your heart as well to make a connection with hers. By doing that, we can ensure that she will receive the correct memories instead of an incorrect perspective." Naruto continued as he let go of Alvin's jacket, making the man let out a grunt.

"You couldn't have just said so." Alvin as he straightened his clothes.

Verius was the next one to speak as he walked up behind Alvin, **"You say that now Alfred, but right now your heart is closed up. While I can easily read what is in your heart, making a connection to another is next to impossible unless you willingly let it happen."**

"… Of course, you would make it sound easy." A melancholy expression took over Alvin's face as he let out a heavy sigh, scratching the back of his head as he looked down at his mother's slumbering face. "There are a lot of things from my past that's made it hard to trust people."

 _'His past?'_ Milla thought to herself as she crossed her arms over her chest. _'Just like before, I'm learning more about Alvin than I did since I met him.'_

Placing a hand on Alvin's shoulder, the brunette turned his head to see Naruto sending him a look of understanding. "I know exactly what it means to have difficulty with trusting people. There are a lot of people who have experienced as well… Remember those people I was telling Jude about a few nights ago, right? About how they couldn't trust or let their guards around anyone… You don't have to open yourself up to all of us right away, but your mother is waiting for you to reconnect with her."

"…" Glancing back down at his bedridden mother, Alvin's hands clenched tightly into fists as his mind started to race as he thought about the childhood he used to have, when his father was alive, and they were happy. Alvin used to think that his mother may have been happier with her memories vanishing one by one… but then there were the moments when her sanity would return, and she flashed him that warm, loving smile she used have. "… Let's get this over with."

"Alright. First, I'm going to replace her corrupted Mana Lobe with a new, healthier one and heal most of her body, so it can handle the new Mana flowing in her body." Naruto explained as he gently pulled down Leticia's covers to reveal her clothed torso, and channeled Mana into his hands as he placed the hand with the white sun-like marking over her forehead while the hand with the black crescent moon-like marking was pressed against her torso. Just like with Milla, Naruto closed his eyes as he began to restore Leticia's body as much as he could, frowning for a split second before he returned to his calm expression, and pulled his hands away seconds later. "… Alright, her body is now cleansed, and the disease has been destroyed… Now for the next part… Verius."

 **"Yes, Lord Naruto."** Verius replied as his form transformed into an orb of energy that floated into Naruto's hand.

 **"Shozui Vulesia!"** Alvin and Milla watched with wide eyes as Naruto pushed Verius's ball into his chest and a warm light covered the Great Spirit of Mana, just like with Aska against the Brutaur. A Spirit Arte Circle formed over Naruto's head before descending his body. As the seal moved passed his head, Naruto's blonde hair became longer and reached the middle of his back with the color shifted to resemble Verius' colors, most of his locks turning red and yellow with green tips at the end, and as the Art Circle passed over his clothes, the orange of his trench coat turned into a yellow-orange with green flames on the tail of the coat.

"The Armatus?" Milla said with a hint of surprise.

 **"It can't be helped, the two of us need to be in sync for the next part and the Armatus hold even more power than Verius by himself."** Naruto said while his voice was mixed with Verius', though this was the last thing on Alvin's mind as he watched Naruto place one hand on his chest while placing the other on his mother's. **"Now Alvin, I want you to open your heart, think only about memories with your mother, regardless of the embarrassment or pain. Close your eyes and let them flow."**

There was something soothing about how Naruto was saying this, as Alvin had no trouble following his orders as he closed his eyes and let the memories flash through his mind. Some of the memories were painful, like the day his father died, the moment his mother began to lose herself and the memories of his uncle… but just as they flashed through his mind, Alvin's memories replaced themselves with the happier ones of when he was still a child, when he tried to make a gift for his mother and accidentally painted her hair, the warm smiles she would send to him and his father. That was the biggest memory in his mind as he thought about all the time they spent together, even when she no longer recognized him except for those brief moments of sanity.

 **"Alright Alvin, that's enough.** The connection has been made," Naruto's dual voice returning to normal and the removal of his hand made Alvin slowly open his eyes to see that Naruto was flashing him a smile while Verius was once again standing at the end of the bed. "It looks like your mother is going to make a full recovery, though like I said before, it is going to take some time for her to adjust to everything once again. Probably have her do minor physical exercises and follow a treatment plan, Jude and I could make something for you if you want."

"Yeah, sure…" Alvin wasn't paying attention to Naruto's words, however, as he looked down at his mother, who he had to admit was looking healthier than she ever been and her sleeping form seemed more peaceful now.

"… We'll leave you two alone for now. Come join us at the Inn when your ready." Milla said as she turned around and made her way out of the home. Naruto blinked in surprise at Milla's words before nodding his head toward Verius, to which the Great Spirit of Mana mirrored before disappearing. Spinning around on his feet, the last thing Naruto saw as he was exiting was Alvin kneeling next to his mother's bed.

 **(Inside the Elevator)**

"…"

"…"

"…"

"… That was surprisingly nice of you." Naruto spoke up as he and Milla rode the elevator down to the first floor, "I almost expected you to demand that he follow through on his end of the bargain."

"I doubted Alvin would've been able to do anything with his mind focused on his mother's recovery." Milla replied as she crossed her arms, "Besides, it's not as if the delay will change anything from what is happening with Exodus and the tournament. He will join us as soon as he is ready. Besides, we should see if we can find any Exodus agents in the area."

As the elevator door opened, Milla was the first one to walk out while Naruto trailed after her with his hands resting behind his head. "While that sounds like a plan, I seriously doubt they are going to be out in the open. Chances are they are going to be more involved in the tournament now that they know you are a part of it and wasn't one of the poisoned."

"I suppose your right about that." Milla couldn't deny the truth behind Naruto's words and nodded her head in agreement as the two made their way to the bridge and started to cross it. "As much as I hate to say it, our best bet is to stay in the tournament to take care of them quickly."

"That is if they aren't already planning somethi-"

"Milla! Naruto!" The two turned their heads at the same time to see Jude and the others rushing up to them.

"Hey there." Milla greeted the four as they got close.

"Where've you guys been! We were worried sick." Jude said with an annoyed look on his face, something that Naruto didn't expect to see on the medical student's face.

"Don't get too angry at them, honor student." The group turned their heads to see Alvin walking towards them with a hand waved in the air, "Naruto was meeting up with me to examine my mother and Milla decided to join us."

"Alvin! Wait, does that mean you were able to help his mom, Naruto?" Leia asked with an excited smile, one that grew when Naruto nodded his head. "Awesome, I'm so happy for you Alvin."

"Thanks."

"I'm surprised you were okay leaving her side so quickly." Naruto spoke up as he looked over at Alvin, who situated himself on the bridge's stone railing.

"Don't worry about her, she was still asleep when I left." Alvin replied as he looked back at Naruto, "Besides, I'll have Isla watch over her until we get ready to leave."

"Isla…"

"Is something wrong, Elize?" Milla asked as she noticed the younger girl frowning slightly as she brought Teepo closer to her chest.

"Umm, I think that Isla might know something about me." Elize said as she looked up from the ground.

That caught the attentions of Milla and Naruto as they looked down at the girl, the female Maxwell taking a step forward as she tilted her head a bit. "Why do you say that?"

"She took a long look at Elize and went pale as a ghost." Jude was the one to answer as he thought back to the woman's strange behavior.

"Not to mention she dashed off like she was scared or something!" Teepo shouted from Elize's arms.

"I see."

 _'Isla… There is definitely something off about her…'_ Narrowing his eyes at what he heard, Naruto crossed his arms as he thought about when he first met the woman and how she greeted them, because even though she was polite and smiling, Naruto could clearly sense a lot of negative emotions coming from the woman. Not so much the sense that she had any malicious intent towards them, well it was different when he saw her interact with Alvin, but it was mostly fear and hatred towards herself. _'Not to mention, the stunt she tried to pull with Leticia.'_ While Naruto had told Alvin the truth about how it was a corrupted Mana Lobe that caused most of his mother's health problems, there was something that he had kept from Alvin. From what he could sense in his examination, there was a large amount of poison in the bedridden woman's body that was most likely given to her in small dosages to make it seem like her health was getting worse without drawing attention. _'It was most likely her doing… But why would she- Wait… is it possible she's…!? So, that's what's going on.'_

"Hey Naruto." Jude's voice spoke up, snapping the Great Spirit out of his thoughts to see the black-haired teen was standing in front of him while the others were starting to walk away. "Wow, you were really in deep thought there. You actually missed the tournament bell. Is something up?"

"… No, just thinking about some things. Don't worry." Naruto replied with a dismissive wave of his hand, "Come on, we can't be late for the tournament."

 **(Skit - The Evolution of Weapons)**

 **Milla: Everyone, I want you all to be careful. The is no telling what kind Spyrix weapons Exodus might use if they attempt something.**

 **Naruto (Sighing while shrugging his shoulders): Geez, it seems like no matter where you go. Humans always try to flaunt the latest weapon around.**

 **Rowen (Bringing a hand to his beard): I take it you've seen quite the number of weapons in your life.**

 **Naruto (Crossing arms while looking away): You have no idea.**

 **Leia (A puzzled expression): Hey Naruto, there's something I've been meaning to ask you.**

 **Naruto: Sure. What's up, Leia?**

 **Leia (Crossing her arms while looking up): It's those black balls that are always hovering behind you. What exactly are they?**

 **Rowen: I must admit, I have been wondering that as well. They seem like they are made of Mana and yet, I can't sense anything from them.**

 **Jude (A hand raised to his temple): It's even crazier since they can transform into any weapon and yet are a shield at the same time.**

 **Naruto (Smirking with hands on hips): It is hard to describe what the Truth-Seeking Orbs really are, but I guess you can say they are special kinds of weapons.**

 **Alvin (Smirking as well): I got to say I'm a little jealous. Us normal fighters need to replace our weapons if they get damaged, but you never have to worry about that.**

 **Naruto (Letting out a laugh): Hahaha! Yeah, that really can be a pain for people.**

 **Elize (A small smile on her face): And there are times when you don't even need a weapon.**

 **Rowen (Smirking with arms crossed): Miss Elize is right about that. You are certainly skilled at hand to hand combat.**

 **Naruto (Rubbing back of head): To be honest, that was how I used to fight before I got the Truth-Seeking Orbs. I have learned and mastered various weapons as a result.**

 **Milla (Leaning forward a bit with hand on chin): Is that so? Does that mean you are skilled with a sword as well? I would love to spar with you in the future.**

 **Naruto (Pointing thumb at forehead with a grin): Sure, though it won't be for a while with everything that's going on.**

 **Teepo (A panicked look): Milla versus Naruto! That's a scary thought!**

 **Elize (Nodding her head): Definitely.**

 **Naruto (Hands on hips): The crazy thing is that the Truth-Seeking Orbs aren't the craziest weapons I've seen.**

 **Alvin (Raised eyebrow): Oh really? So what kind of weapons have you seen?**

 **Naruto (In a thinking pose): Hmm… Well there were some powerful ones and others that were unique in their own ways. Those guns of yours are interesting, though I've seen ones that can be fueled by Chakra and Mana to make them sharper than any blade ever seen. There were also some crazier ones that involved controlling weaponized puppets, and one person was famous in a war for using a fan-like weapon called a Gunbai.**

 **Jude (Eyes widen in shock): Really!?**

 **Naruto (A large grin on his face): In one country, there were seven swords that were famous back then because of their uniqueness. The most terrifying one of the bunch was Samehada, which was actually sentient and would chose its wielder, that sword had the ability to devour Chakra and even use it to restore its wielder.**

 **Rowen (A look of wonder): The ability to eat Chakra, you say? That reminds me of those Artes that can drain the Mana from people, like we saw at Bermia Gorge.**

 **Naruto: Though I think I had heard some rumors about a powerful Mana Cannon that was strong enough to blow up the Moon.**

 **Everyone is startled at this as they look at Naruto with wide eyes.**

 **Leia (A shocked expression): BLOW UP THE MOON!? You're kidding right?**

 **Naruto: Nope, totally serious. Apparently, that took place a few years after I created the World Tree, unfortunately I never got to see it because I was taking care of some other business involving the World Tree and a squirrel-brained idiot that was trying to take control away from me.**

 **Elize (Question marks floating overhead): A… squirrel-brained… idiot?**

 **Alvin (Confused look): Do I even want to know what that means?**

 **Naruto (Looking away while grumbling to himself): Hmph, that asshole got what he deserved. He's luck I only finished him off with the A Thousand Years of Death technique.**

 **Jude (Raising a hand with a shocked look): A Thousand Years of Death?!**

 **Milla (A look of interest): Such a devastating name. I wonder how it works?**

Quickly making their way onto the boat and taking it to the coliseum, the group soon reached the docks and saw Yurgen and his clansmen standing at the nearby stairs. Rushing up to the group, Milla was the first one to speak as they got close. "We heard the bell. What's going on?

Turning their heads at the familiar voice, a look of relief appeared on Yurgen's face as he saw the entire party there. "Oh, thank the spirits you came! The tournament committee suddenly voted to hold the finals." The man's expression turned grim as he crossed his arms over his chest, "And they've decided to revert to the late king's rules."

"The late king's rules? You don't mean–" Leia wasn't the only one to figure it out as everyone in the group took a step back in surprise.

"I'm afraid I do." Yurgen said while nodding his head, "A fight to the death. I didn't mention it before, but the old rules also mandate that fights be one-on-one."

Turning his head to look over to Milla, Jude spoke up. "So, what do we do?"

"Hmm. Well, we need those wyverns, so forfeiting is not an option." Milla replied as she turned to face Jude while crossing her arms, before closing her eyes in thought. "But this is still very peculiar."

"Why would they revert to an older set of rules?" Rowen wondered out loud as he stroked his beard.

"Wake up and smell the poisoned coffee, kids." Alvin's voice called out making everyone in the group turn to look at him. "It's pretty obvious that this is a plot made by Exodus to snuff you out."

"Are you sure?" Jude asked in alarm.

"Hold on!" Teepo said as he and Elize tilted their heads to the side at the same time, "How do you know about those meanies?"

"Are you sure it is okay to say this?" Milla asked causing Jude to look at her in confusion.

Spinning himself around so that his back was facing the group, Alvin rubbed the back of his head as he spoke, "A deal is a deal, right? Think of this as my way of thanking you."

"What are you guys talking about?" Jude finally asked.

"Alvin used to work for Exodus." This time it was Naruto who answered as the attention shifted between him and Alvin, though this didn't stop the Great Spirit from continuing. "They originally had him do odd jobs for them, but let's just say that I managed to free him from they're enforced employment. Though it doesn't look like they valued him that much if they didn't care enough to make sure he didn't get poisoned as well."

"Got that right! If it wasn't for Milla stopping us, I'd have been one of the people needing Naruto's medical treatment. I don't know who was behind it, either." Alvin stated as he spun around to face everyone with an angry frown on his face before shaking his head. "Like he said, the work I mostly did was always small-fry stuff. Though that isn't the case anymore since Naruto was able to help me out and in exchange I would no longer work with them."

"Were you privy to Exodus' plans?" Rowen asked making Alvin turn to look at the older man.

"Uh, yeah, I mean, I heard some things. They hope to change the rules for the finals and use it to kill Milla." Alvin explained, to which everyone turned their heads towards the female Maxwell, who crossed her arms as she continued listening to Alvin. "Even if you win, they have a backup plan. They figured you'll be worn out, easy pickings for their snipers in the cheap seats."

"How dare they stain our proud tournament with their foul tricks!" Yurgen shouted angrily as he listened in on the conversation. "This is an outrage!"

"Heh, their plan is a house of cards." Milla stated with a small smirk, "If any one of you fights as a champion in my stead, their whole plan collapses."

"Oh, good thinking." Leia said as she nodded her head in agreement, only to be taken aback by what Milla said next.

"Still, I'll take their bait. Anything to drag them out of hiding."

Alvin was the first one to speak as he placed a hand on his hip, "Are you nuts? Why?!"

"It is far too dangerous." Rowen spoke up as he waved his hand in front of him, "I cannot allow you to risk your life just to bait Exodus into the open."

"Yeah, it's not worth it!" Leia stated as she also tried to talk Milla out of it, "Not to mention, you'll be on your own out there in the arena, who knows what they might do."

"Which is why she won't be alone." Naruto spoke up as he took a step forward, causing the others to look at him and saw a smirk on his face as well as he reached into his coat. "Exodus might think that they have the upper-hand by changing the rules a bit, but there is nothing to say we can't do the same." Pulling out a long piece of paper, Naruto walked over to Yurgen and held it out to the Kitarl Clan member. "Take this to the tournament committee and have them request the match to be a two-on-two. They'll have to agree once they see this."

"Hmm? How is this going to… Huh!? But this is-!" Slowly taking the paper from Naruto, Yurgen brought the piece of parchment closer to his face before a shocked expression appeared on his face. "This is the real thing… How… How do you have the King's seal?!"

 ** _"What?!"_** Everyone shouted before looking at Naruto in shock, though the blonde simply scratched the back of his head.

"Yeaaaaaahh… Did I forget to mention that I actually know the King of Auj Oule personally? Though I haven't seen him in years, now that I think about it, the last time I saw him was around the time that he became the King." Shifting his gaze away from the other members of his party, Naruto focused his attention on the awe-struck Yurgen. "You better hurry now before it is too late, thanks to that paper, I am allowed to alter one thing in the rules as long as it isn't too significant."

Snapping out of his daze, Yurgen nodded his head rapidly. "O-Of course! I will present this to them immediately."

Watching the Kitarl man and his clansmen rush up the stairs and out of sight, Naruto turned back to the others. "The downside of that paper is that I can only use it once. Gaius made that perfectly clear when he gave that to me."

"… It continues to amaze me just how much connection you have with this world and its people." Rowen finally said making a few others nod in agreement.

"Maybe, but thanks to that, Milla has back-up while the rest of us take care of the Exodus agents in the stands." Jude spoke up while in this thinking pose before looking at both Milla and Naruto. "That's what the two of you are planning, right?"

"Exactly. Though Naruto's surprising entry is an unexpected bonus, I know I can count on the rest of you to take them out." Milla said as she, Jude and Naruto exchanged a nod in agreement between the three of them.

"It's the perfect way for us to counter their trap with one of our own. Thanks to Alvin's info, we know when and how they will strike. It's a logical plan." Jude explained as he looked over at Naruto, who punched his open palm.

"This is the perfect time since they won't expect us to have Milla and I appear in the arena, but at the same time it will leave them open for us to put a stop to them before they have a chance to slip away and prepare something else." Naruto continued as he clenched his hand tightly around his fist, "And there's no guarantee that what they could plan for another attempt will not result in more casualties like there could've been with the poisoned food."

"Everyone!" The group turned around to see Yurgen returning in a fast pace until he was standing in front of them, "It worked. Thanks to the parchment of the King's Seal that Naruto had, the tournament committee was forced to accept his conditions. It's now a two-on-two match. Is it really going to be the two of you that enters the match?"

"No use saying that now, Milla and I will be the ones competing." Naruto replied as he placed a hand on his hip.

"The pride of your clan is also on the line, isn't it?" Milla stated as moved to stand next to Naruto. "We both get what we want."

"You both really are something… Thank you." Yurgen bowed his head lightly before turning around and heading up the stairs.

"Very well. So, we're left with no choice but to ensure that everything goes right. Your strategy must succeed." Rowen relented as he and the others nodded their heads at the two before heading up the stairs themselves, Jude looking back at them briefly before nodding his head.

"Here we go. Are you ready?" Milla asked as she looked at the blonde Great Spirit next to her.

"Of course. Let's go!" Naruto responded with a grin before lifting a fist up to Milla, confusing her as she looked at the clenched hand with a raised eyebrow. "Oh, that's right. You don't know this… Just copy what I'm doing and bump your fist against mine."

Lifting her hand, she clenched it into a fist before bringing it close to Naruto's before softly bumping against it. "… I don't understand, is this supposed to mean something?"

"A long time ago, this was how two people showed respect to one another and symbolized acknowledgement between two people." Naruto explained as he lowered his fist and flashed Milla a smile, "Since you and I are going to be fighting side-by-side, I wanted you to know that I'll be watching your back out there."

Slowly bringing her fist back, Milla stared at it for a few second before she let out a chuckle. "It's funny… It seems like such a Human way of bonding, and yet, I can't help but feel a sense of nostalgia and importance behind it. In some strange way, I kind of enjoy it." Exchanging one last shared nod, the two made their way up the stairs towards the arena, both preparing themselves for the life or death match that awaited them.

 **NMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMNMMN**

 _*Sigh* Chapter Four is done, and that was probably one of my longest chapter yet. Anyway, even though the party has found a way to borrow the wyverns own by the Kitarl Clan by fighting in a tournament and Naruto kept his promise in healing Alvin's mother. However, it looks like the tournament took an unexpected turn and now Milla and Naruto are fighting off against Exodus. What is Exodus planning, especially now that they must fight not only Milla Maxwell but the Great Spirit of Mana as well. What happened to Alvin and Elize? And what? The group needs to head to Kanbalar to meet with King Gaius, how will this turn out with Naruto in the group? What will happen next? You'll just have to read and find out. Like always with all my works be sure to leave some nice reviews, but remember that all flames and insults will be IGNORED, so don't bother writing them. I hope you enjoyed reading and I hope to see you again._

 ** _A/N 2:_** _The next story that I am currently working on is **Red Threads of Fate** and then I will work on my **Fairy Flame Dragon** story._

 ** _A/N 3:_** _Lately I've been wanting to see what it would look if one of my stories was written with that Reading/Watching Genre that been getting very popular lately. I don't know who would be interested in doing it with one of mine, but I really hope someone could give it a try._

 _Until Next Time!_


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